President Donald Trump posted disturbing security camera footage on his Truth Social platform late Thursday, showing a fatal hammer attack at a Fort Myers gas station that he’s using to advance his mass deportation policies.
The suspect, 40-year-old Rolbert Joachin, faces murder charges for the April 2nd killing of a convenience store employee approximately 160 miles northwest of Miami. While Trump identified the man as Haitian, police and court documents don’t specify his nationality but note he required a Creole interpreter due to limited English proficiency.
Trump frequently uses immigration-related crimes to support his border policies and criticize Democrats, including former President Joe Biden, claiming they allow dangerous individuals into the country. Research indicates that undocumented immigrants commit violent, drug, and property crimes at lower rates than U.S.-born citizens.
“The video of her brutal slaying is one of the most vicious things you will ever see,” Trump wrote in his social media post, calling the suspect an “animal.”
The security footage, also posted by the Department of Homeland Security, shows the attacker first striking a black car with a hammer outside the Chevron station. When victim Nilufa Easmin, 51, emerges wearing black pants and a pink shirt to confront him, the man in yellow shirt and black shorts immediately strikes her head with the weapon.
The graphic video captures Easmin falling to the sidewalk near the store entrance, where the attacker continues hitting her head six times before stepping over her motionless body and leaving the scene.
According to a GoFundMe campaign organized by Samir Bahadur Syed from the Bangladesh Association of Southwest Florida, Easmin was “a devoted mother who worked tirelessly to provide for her two young daughters.”
Fort Myers officers responded to reports of the hammer attack and discovered the victim on the ground with severe head injuries and multiple wounds. They apprehended Joachin walking nearby shortly after the incident.
Police report that Joachin has admitted to the crime. He appeared in court Wednesday on murder and property damage charges, with arraignment scheduled for May 4th. His public defender has not responded to requests for comment.
Trump criticized Biden for allowing Joachin to remain in the United States under temporary protection. Kelly Walker, acting director of ICE’s Miami enforcement office, revealed Friday that Joachin arrived by boat near Key West in August 2022, was arrested, and received Temporary Protected Status in 2023, which was revoked this week.
The Trump administration strongly opposes Temporary Protected Status programs, which allow citizens from countries experiencing crisis or conflict to live and work in America temporarily. Republicans argue that Biden’s administration has overused TPS to permit hundreds of thousands to remain in the country inappropriately.
Multiple federal lawsuits challenge Trump’s attempts to end TPS for over one million people, including 350,000 Haitians. A federal appeals court upheld a lower court’s decision against terminating Haiti’s temporary status in March, and the Supreme Court will hear arguments on April 29th.
The Department of Homeland Security and Trump administration frequently publicize crimes involving immigrants and maintain a website tracking ICE arrests and related offenses. They regularly feature “Angel Families” who have lost relatives to crimes committed by immigrants.
ICE commemorated the first anniversary of reopening their victim assistance office Thursday, featuring emotional testimony from surviving family members.
