A college professor and martial arts journalist with suspected ties to Antifa faces serious questions after federal agents arrested him outside an ICE detention facility in suburban Chicago while allegedly carrying a loaded firearm and multiple magazines of ammunition.
Elias Cepeda, a faculty member in the English department at Northeastern Illinois University and longtime MMA columnist, was taken into custody on September 26 during protests at the ICE Broadview facility in Illinois. The arrest came just two days after a fatal sniper incident at an ICE facility in Dallas, raising alarm bells among federal law enforcement officials.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Cepeda—a first-degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under renowned instructor Robert Drysdale—had been on their radar due to inflammatory social media posts and suspected connections to the Trump-designated domestic terror organization Antifa. NYPost was the first to report on the arrest.
“Elias Cepeda has suspected ties to the domestic terrorist organization ANTIFA and has a history of glorifying violence against—and the harming of—our brave law enforcement,”
stated Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in an official release.
McLaughlin expressed gratitude that authorities intervened before any harm occurred.
“Thank God law enforcement intervened and arrested Cepeda before he could have potentially harmed anyone,”
she said, calling it
“a stark warning to any individual who wishes to do our law enforcement harm or any ANTIFA terrorist.”
Cepeda’s social media history reveals a pattern of hostile rhetoric toward immigration enforcement agencies. In one June post responding to DHS on X, he wrote:
“[Y]our Nazi asses are lying. Secondly, we’d all be morally justified in taking your Nazi heads off with weed whackers.”
The journalist and educator also advocated for armed resistance in schools, posting in January 2025:
“No that ICE is showing up at elementary schools with weapons and no warrants attempting to terrorize kids I am in favor of teachers and staff being armed to protect children.”
Other posts show Cepeda using the #Antifa hashtag and responding to DHS communications with simple messages like
“Shut up, Nazi.”
He also publicly acknowledged training a Portland-based transgender grappler with Antifa sympathies, writing in 2022:
“That’s right, and I’m d–n proud to train her. You cowards coming for her can come for me as well. I’m easy to find.”
Cepeda reportedly operated Foundation Chicago, a mixed martial arts community center in the city’s Pilsen neighborhood, where he taught alongside others in the combat sports community. His LinkedIn profile boasts over 15 years of journalism experience with outlets including MixedMartialArts.com, Fox Sports, Yahoo! News, and Sports Illustrated‘s FanSided network.
The university’s website describes him as “an experience journalist” who created and taught a Critical Journalism course in 2020 “with a focus on the role and the politics of the fourth estate.”
According to local reports, Cepeda was struck with a non-lethal round before his detention. His mother, Leila Mendez, defended her son to ABC7, stating:
“My son has a legal concealed and carry, but he did not come to use it. His hands, if you look at the video … are up in the air.”
At the time of publication, it remains unclear whether Cepeda will face formal charges. The case takes on added significance after a Chicago grand jury this week declined to indict another couple arrested at the same location for allegedly assaulting federal agents while armed, forcing prosecutors to drop those charges.
Cepeda also served as a volunteer for Pilsen Defense and Access, a nonprofit organization that provides self-defense training and violence prevention resources to marginalized communities and children.
Cepeda has since ‘denied’ getting arrested on X saying:
