Washington (Quds News Network)- US-Turkish commentator Hasan Piker said he was held by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport and questioned for nearly two hours about his views on Trump and Israel’s genocide in Gaza. In a Monday livestream on Twitch, where he has 2.8 million followers, Piker, the US-born progressive political commentator who was carrying a US passport when he entered the country, said he was led to a private room on his arrival. “The goal here is to put fear into people’s hearts, to have a chilling effect on speech that, like, the government is unafraid of intimidating you,” Piker said. “Does this stop me from saying whatever the fuck I want to say? Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous. But the reason why I wanted to talk about it was to give you more insight into what the government is doing, and to speak out against this sort of stuff.” He said a CBP officer questioned him about his criticism of Israel’s war on Gaza, asking him, “Do you like Hamas? Like, do you support Hamas? Do you think Hamas is a resistance group?” In response, Piker said he told the officer that he was a “pacifist” and wanted “the endless bloodshed to end”. “I just kept repeating that over and over again,” he said, describing the line of questioning as “insane” and a violation of his first amendment rights. The incident has drawn criticism from rights advocates. Chip Gibbons, the policy director of Defending Rights & Dissent, said the rights group was “deeply disturbed that CBP is stopping political commentators at the border to interrogate them about First Amendment-protected activities”. “Such an abuse of power is an affront to press freedom,” Gibbons said. Alex Peter, an attorney and popular online creator who shares content about the American judicial system, wrote: “DHS flagging and detaining one of the US’s largest leftwing voices for their political opinions while the Trump admin suggests they might suspend habeas corpus does not portend well for the future.” “This is nothing but lying for likes,” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. “Claims that his political beliefs triggered the inspection are baseless. Our officers are following the law, not agendas.” She added: “Upon entering the country, this individual was referred for further inspection – a routine, lawful process that occurs daily, and can apply for any traveler. Once his inspection was complete, he was promptly released.” A CBP official claimed that the suggestion that Piker was targeted for his political views “baseless”. In his broadcast, Piker said he planned to submit an online inquiry about why he was stopped.