TikToker causes panic after mistaking ice cream van for ICE vehicle
TikToker causes panic after mistaking ice cream van for ICE vehicle
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‘Please be on the lookout for ‘ice cream’ trucks… they ever play music to get people to come outside… this is actually so sick’, wrote a woman in a now-deleted TikTok video. A Las Vegas ice cream truck has been caught up in a social media furor after being mistaken for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicle.
![[ICE uses a range of vehicles including an armoured truck (pictured), but many TikTok users have posted concerns claiming to be on the lookout for ICE patrol vehicles]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/28/15/homeland-secuity-ice.jpg)
In a now-deleted TikTok video, a woman posted a video of Billy Settlemyers’s Las Vegas Ice Cream Patrol van, which bears a resemblance to a U.S. law enforcement vehicle, stating: “Please be on the lookout for ‘ice cream’ trucks… they ever play music to get people to come outside… this is actually so sick.”.
Tensions with immigration are at an all-time high since President Donald Trump announced he was ordering a mass deportation of thousands of illegal immigrants in the U.S. just hours after taking office on January 20. As soon as the video went live, online users convinced by the claim the van was a legitimate ICE van began to slate Settlemyers’ business and accused him of working with the federal government.
The business owners’ van is distinguishable from the typical ICE patrol vehicles as it shows the range of ice creams available on the side. However, it shares a black and white design along with an embellished fake police badge on the side – a design choice, Settlemyers insisted was “nice and clean and approachable – safe for kids”.
He also shared with the outlet that often people would ask if he was ex-law enforcement. Since the viral post, Settlemyers said his safety had been compromised and left him feeling “like a target”, adding that posting fake claims such as that can often result in dangerous repercussions.
