Angela Lipps
Fargo Police Department

A 50-year-old grandmother from Tennessee spent more than five months behind bars in what is now being dubbed a wrongful arrest by police in North Dakota. Identified as Angela Lipps, she was arrested and detained by authorities after an AI facial recognition tool linked her to crimes in North Dakota.

However, there was one problem. Lipps had never been to the state before, but that did not stop police from placing her behind bars. Worse, police acknowledged that there were 'errors' in the 50-year-old's case but never issued an apology for the inconvenience.

Now, the grandmother is dealing with the aftermath of the wrongful accusation and claims she is just happy that the ordeal was over .

Lipps Harrowing Ordeal

Lipps was originally arrested on 14 July 2025 by the Fargo Police Department, according to details revealed on a verified GoFundMe page. Her arrest came after an arrest warrant was issued weeks before concerning several instances of bank fraud, according to a report by CNN.

At the time, authorities stood by their call to arrest the elderly woman, stressing their AI facial recognition technology and adding that they took necessary investigative steps before making the arrest and submitting their report to the Cass County State Attorney's Office.

Response from Authorities

The West Fargo Police Department shared with CNN that they used Clearview AI, a startup that owns billions of photos that were allegedly collected from the internet and social media. It was added that the company was the one that identified the suspect based on similar features to Lipps.

Authorities added that they didn't push forward with the charges and didn't have enough evidence to charge anyone in the fraud case in West Fargo. However, Lipps remained detained in Tennessee for three months reportedly because the Cass County Sheriff's Office failed to inform North Dakota authorities that they had the 50-year-old woman's extradition waiver.

'We have been unable to determine based on available information if the length of time Ms. Lipps was in jail in Tennessee before being transported to North Dakota was due to serving time for a probation violation or if it was because she fought extradition,' Fargo police said in an official statement.

Eventual Release

Lipps was eventually released on Christmas Eve. It ended months of despair and stress, held for crimes she did not commit. However, it remained that the wrongful arrest cost her a lot. That included a tarnished reputation, mounting bills and losing personal belongings as well as her rented home.

'I am not the same woman I was. I don't think I ever will be,' Lipps said on the GoFundMe post put up by Michael Nessa.

As of this writing, the page has so far raised $70,731 (£53,447). The target is $75,000 (£56,673).

Lipps Won't Forget North Dakota

With her life severely changed from that incident, Lipps is just relieved that the harrowing ordeal is over. But one thing that is certain, she vowed never to go back to North Dakota.

'I'm just glad it's over,' she told WDAY News. 'I'll never go back to North Dakota.'

For now, Lipps' lawyers intend to look into the reason behind Lipps' long detention despite presenting exculpatory bank records. It remains unclear if civil rights claims will be filed. So far, filing a potential lawsuit has not been done.

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