Granddaughter Of ‘Charlotte’s Web’ Author Shreds DHS For Using Quote From Beloved Book

The granddaughter of E.B. White, the author of “Charlotte’s Web,” blasted the Trump administration after the Department of Homeland Security used the beloved children’s book’s title for its immigration crackdown.

On Saturday, DHS announced that it was launching “Operation Charlotte’s Web,” its name for the immigration sweep of the Charlotte, N.C., area. Federal immigration agents made more than 130 arrests in the region over the weekend, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.

Gregory Bovino, a top Border Patrol official, bragged about arrests made in Charlotte and quoted from the children’s book in a social media post.

“Wherever the wind takes us. High, low. Near, far. East, west. North, south. We take to the breeze, we go as we please,” he wrote. “This time, the breeze hit Charlotte like a storm. From border towns to the Queen City, our agents go where the mission calls.”

Martha White, who oversees her late grandfather’s estate, took issue with the government’s appropriation of E.B. White’s work.

“He believed in the rule of law and due process,” Martha White said about her grandfather in a statement to CNN.

“[He] certainly didn’t believe in masked men, in unmarked cars, raiding people’s homes and workplaces without IDs or summons,” she added. “He didn’t condone fearmongering.”

White also cited a quote from the character of Charlotte the spider, who uses her web to save Wilbur the pig from being slaughtered by a farmer.

“By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a little,” the spider said in the book. “Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.”

In its original announcement, DHS said the operation would target “criminal illegal aliens who flocked to the Tar Heel State because they knew sanctuary politicians would protect them.” However, as CNN noted, Charlotte is not a “sanctuary city.” It’s a “Certified Welcoming City,” a formal designation recognizing a city’s commitment to immigrant inclusion.

Local officials said the federal immigration crackdown has led to “unnecessary fear and uncertainty” and sparked “community chaos.” North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D) also blasted federal agents for “stoking fear” and “racially profiling” people in Charlotte.