‘Possessed firearms’: Former Des Moines school superintendent detained by ICE faces federal charges; held four guns

Ian Roberts (AP)

A former school superintendent, Ian Roberts of Des Moines Public Schools, was recently detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and has been charged by federal prosecutors in Iowa with one count of being an “illegal alien in possession of firearms,” according to court records.Prosecutors confirmed on October 2 that Roberts faces federal charges for possessing firearms while in the US without legal authorization.The court ordered Roberts to be held in custody and noted that an immigration detainer has been placed, as per the docket.According to the federal criminal complaint, a pistol was found “wrapped in a towel under the driver’s seat,” purchased in Arkansas from a federally licensed dealer by an individual believed to be Roberts’ spouse.During a search of his residence on Friday, law enforcement reportedly discovered a loaded pistol under a chair cushion in the living room, a loaded rifle in a bedroom closet, and a shotgun behind the headboard in the bedroom.The complaint noted that all four firearms were manufactured outside Iowa and thus “crossed a state line before Roberts possessed them,” as cited by ABC News.Roberts, 54, was arrested on Thursday, according to the court docket. He had been held by ICE at Woodbury County Jail in Sioux City but is now in federal custody under a Department of Justice warrant, Sheriff Chad Sheehan said.ICE reported that Roberts was initially detained on Friday while in possession of a loaded handgun, a fixed-blade hunting knife, and $3,000 in cash.Roberts, who joined Des Moines Public Schools in 2023, received a previously unreported deportation order in 2024. Originally from Guyana, he came to the US to study and play college sports, obtaining a student visa in 1999. Between 2001 and 2018, Roberts reportedly applied unsuccessfully for permanent residency, according to the new criminal complaint.Federal authorities allege that Roberts was ineligible to work in the United States when he took on the district’s top position, as his work authorization expired in 2020, over two years before he became superintendent, as reported by USA Today.Roberts was ordered removed from the US on May 22, 2024, during a hearing he did not attend. In April, an immigration judge denied his motion to reopen the case, ruling that he had not shown proof that he was unaware of the 2024 hearing.The Des Moines school district initially placed Roberts on paid suspension but changed it to unpaid on Monday after the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners revoked his superintendent license. The district has stated that background checks indicated Roberts was a US citizen. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice confirmed it has opened a civil rights investigation into Des Moines Public Schools.