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Police say people impersonated ICE agents on Temple’s campus. One student has been charged as the investigation continues.

Two wore shirts with “ICE” and “Police” in white lettering. Aidan Steigelmann, 22, a Temple student, is on interim suspension and charged with an impersonation offense by Philadelphia police.

Insomnia Cookies is shown on the 1300 block of Cecil B. Moore Avenue. Philadelphia and Temple University police are investigating an incident where people posing as ICE agents disrupted the business on Saturday night, according to the school.
Insomnia Cookies is shown on the 1300 block of Cecil B. Moore Avenue. Philadelphia and Temple University police are investigating an incident where people posing as ICE agents disrupted the business on Saturday night, according to the school.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

Philadelphia and Temple University police are investigating an incident where two people posing as ICE agents disrupted a business on campus on Saturday night, according to the school.

The pair wore shirts with “ICE” and “Police” in white lettering, while a third person videotaped the disturbance. One Temple student was in custody Sunday night — and released on Monday ― and has been placed on interim suspension from the university.

The police agencies have initiated a criminal investigation, the school said.

Shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday, the three, all males, entered Insomnia Cookies on the 1300 block of Cecil B. Moore Avenue, authorities said. Temple officials said the trio disrupted the store, but not provide specific details of what they allegedly said or did.

“Impersonating law-enforcement officers is a crime,” the school said in a statement from Jennifer Griffin, vice president for public safety and chief of police, and Jodi Bailey Accavallo, vice president for student affairs. “This behavior and harassment of Temple community members will not be tolerated.”

Philadelphia police identified the person who was arrested as Aidan Steigelmann, 22, of the 1400 block of North Fifth Street. He has been charged with an impersonation offense, police said. Efforts to contact Steigelmann, who was due to graduate this year, were unsuccessful on Monday.

Police described an evolution of two incidents, the first at 9:35 p.m. Saturday, when Temple University Police responded to the Johnson & Hardwick Residence Hall for a report of suspicious males identifying themselves as ICE agents and police officers.

Two suspects identified themselves in that way to security at the residence hall, police said. Temple said the two were denied admission. Steigelmann then arrived at the hall, spoke with the two, and all three left together in a Jaguar SUV before police arrived.

About 10 minutes later, police responded to a call at Insomnia Cookies for three men identifying themselves as police and ICE agents, Philadelphia police said. Two suspects left the area, while Steigelmann was arrested at 10 p.m. on the 1700 block of North 12th Street.

Police towed the Jaguar SUV. The two suspects were wearing black shirts that said “police” on the front and “ICE” on the back. Their affiliations to Temple, if any, could not be determined on Monday.

Steigelmann graduated from Wissahickon High School in Ambler in 2021, according to an intramural athletics profile. He enrolled in Temple later that year, was affiliated with the Fox School of Business as recently as 2023, and was expected to graduate this year.

Online, Steigelmann marketed a homespun streetwear line and posted about international travel.

”My life like a movie,” he said on Instagram, along with pictures of a beachfront vacation.

The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said Monday that Steigelmann had been charged with conspiracy to impersonate a public servant.

ICE officials in Philadelphia said in a statement on Monday that “impersonation of any law-enforcement officer is not only dangerous, but illegal, and imposters may be charged under federal law. ... Anyone who suspects they have encountered an imposter is encouraged to contact local law enforcement.”

Insomnia Cookies said no employees were injured. “We take the well being of our Insomniacs extremely seriously, and are cooperating with local law enforcement officials on this matter,” the company said in a statement.

Temple officials said they used cameras to locate the car Steigelmann and the others were using around campus. Temple has asked anyone with information about the incident to contact the school police at Investigations@temple.edu or phone 215-204-1234. Anyone who notices concerning activity on campus should likewise call.

The incident occurred as reports of ICE activity have surged in the region, driving anxiety in migrant communities, and only days after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided a North Philadelphia car wash and arrested seven men.

In Chester County, a car and driver that presented as a member of the “ICE Volunteer Corps” — there’s no such thing — stirred concern. The driver had fraudulent ICE stickers on the side and back of a white Jeep that was seen in West Chester and Kennett Square, the latter home to thousands of undocumented people who work in the region’s agricultural industry.

In South Philadelphia, rumors of impending ICE raids have unsettled Philadelphia’s famous Italian Market, closing businesses and leaving stalls vacant, though no large-scale enforcement has been reported there.

Last week, Temple posted a statement that said despite rumors, neither the school nor city police had reports of ICE agents being on campus.

On Friday, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said local elected officials and law-enforcement officers cannot be forced to comply with President Donald Trump’s planned crackdown on immigration, which he referred to as “Nazi stuff.”

Krasner, a Democrat, joined City Council members and state representatives at City Hall to condemn the president’s actions, which have included rescinding a policy that had barred ICE agents from entering churches, schools, hospitals, and other “sensitive locations.”

Philadelphia Acting Field Office Director Brian McShane responded to the news conference statements on X, saying “the brave men and women of ICE put their lives on the line everyday and place public safety over politics. Attempts to villainize them by people who are supposed to be leaders in the community is shameful and dangerous.”

ICE would continue to carry out its mission “despite idol threats and dangerous rhetoric by these people,” he said, misusing the word “idol” for “idle.”

Staff writers Ryan Briggs and Susan Snyder contributed to this article.