Twitch Star HasanAbi claims DHS detained and questioned him on Trump and Hamas

Popular Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who goes by the online name HasanAbi, said he was held and questioned by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents when he returned from a trip to France at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Piker talked about what happened during a live stream and in later statements.

Piker, a Turkish-American citizen with a large online following on multiple platforms, said that when he arrived at the airport on Sunday, he was taken to a separate area for additional screening and questioned for about two hours. As found by User Mag, Piker said the CBP agents knew who he was and asked him many questions about his political opinions, including what he thought about President Donald Trump and his views on the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

They specifically asked if he had any ties to Hamas, the Houthis, or Hezbollah. He described the setting where he was questioned as bare and meant to intimidate. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded to Piker’s claims by saying there was no political reason behind his detention. The DHS stated that the inspection was a normal and legal process and that Piker was let go as soon as it was over. However, the DHS did not explain what exactly was asked during the questioning or why it took two hours.

DHS detained and questioned HasanAbi for two hours

This lack of detail became a major point of disagreement between Piker’s version of events and the DHS’s official statement. Piker publicly questioned the DHS’s explanation, pointing out that their claim of a routine check did not match the highly political nature of the questions he was asked.

Making the situation more complicated, Piker is part of the Global Entry program, which is supposed to make customs faster for travelers who are pre-approved and considered low risk. The fact that he was still detained despite this status made him more convinced that the questioning was not routine but instead focused on his political opinions.

Piker chose to speak publicly about what happened, even though it could be risky, likely because he believes his large platform gives him some protection. He said he wanted to use his visibility to call attention to what he sees as a violation of civil rights. He admitted that he is in a more privileged position than many others, saying that people without his public following might go through similar situations without being able to bring attention to it.