Police in Fargo, North Dakota, relied solely on AI facial recognition software to arrest a 50-year-old grandmother who had never left Tennessee. Angela Lipps was held for nearly six months before bank records showed she was at home, 1,200 miles away, buying cigarettes and ordering pizza at the time of the alleged crime. She lost her house, car, and pet dog. No police official has apologized.
Arrest at Gunpoint: Dragged Away While Babysitting Grandchildren
According to the Grand Forks Herald, on July 14, 2025, a team of federal marshals stormed Lipps’s home in Tennessee, guns drawn. She was caring for four young children at the time. She was arrested as a "fugitive from North Dakota" and held without bail. “It was terrifying. The image still replays in my mind,” Lipps said. “I have never been to North Dakota. I don't know anyone there.”
The incident began with a police investigation into bank fraud. A woman used a fake U.S. Army ID to withdraw tens of thousands of dollars from multiple banks. To identify the suspect from surveillance footage, police used AI facial recognition software, which pointed to Lipps. The detective compared Lipps’s social media photos and Tennessee driver’s license, writing in the charging document: “Based on facial features, body type, hairstyle, and hair color, Lipps is likely the suspect.” She was charged with four counts of aggravated identity theft and four counts of theft. Police never called her to verify anything.
Waited 108 Days for Transfer, First Interview Five Months Later
Lipps sat in a Tennessee jail for 108 days before North Dakota officers came to pick her up. On October 30, she was transferred to Fargo and made her first court appearance the next day. Her defense attorney, Jay Greenwood, immediately requested bank records. It wasn’t until December 19 that Fargo police finally interviewed Lipps in the Cass County Jail—over five months into her detention.
The bank records were clear: At the same time police claimed she was committing crimes in Fargo, her account showed she was in Tennessee—depositing a Social Security check, buying cigarettes at a gas station, ordering pizza, and using Cash App for Uber Eats. “If the only evidence you have is a facial recognition result, maybe you should check a little more,” Greenwood said.
Released on Christmas Eve, but Lost Everything
On December 24, five days after the interview, the case was dismissed and Lipps was released. She was dropped off on the streets of Fargo in freezing temperatures, wearing summer clothes with no money. “I had summer clothes on, no coat. It was cold, snow on the ground. I was scared. I wanted to leave but didn’t know how to get home.” Police did not pay for her travel back. A local defense lawyer covered her hotel and meals for Christmas Eve and Christmas. The next day, Adam Martin, founder of the nonprofit F5 Project, drove her to Chicago to begin her journey back to Tennessee.
The six-month wrongful imprisonment cost Lipps her home, her car, and even her dog. To date, no one from the Fargo Police Department has apologized.
Police Chief Refuses to Comment, Case Still Open
Local news outlet WDAY News spent a week trying to interview Police Chief David Zibolski but was refused. At his retirement press conference, a reporter asked: “Why was Lipps held for five months without any interview by Fargo police?” The chief replied, “Thanks for the question, but we’re not discussing that today.” Ironically, Fargo police say the bank fraud investigation remains open and no one has been arrested. The case highlights the dangers of relying on AI facial recognition in law enforcement—when an algorithm alone leads to conviction without basic human verification, innocent lives can be shattered overnight.