FBI arrests Inique Hinton over alleged Atlanta ICE firebombing
The attempted-arson charge carries up to 20 years, and prosecutors say the device struck the fence and spread flames outside a building housing ICE and an immigration court.
Violence against an ICE facility is unacceptable. Federal agents arrested Inique Hinton, 31, of Douglasville, Georgia, on Friday evening for allegedly hurling a Molotov cocktail at the Atlanta ICE building1. He is charged with attempted arson of a federal building and depredation of government property, according to U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg2.
The target was a federal building that holds ICE offices and an immigration court, behind a metal fence2. Federal officials said the device never cleared that fence and became lodged at the top3. Hertzberg called the attack political violence1.
Security cameras allegedly caught Hinton igniting an item and throwing it toward the building on Tuesday night, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia. The office said the object hit the fence and flames spread. Investigators later found burned cloth, lighter fluid, a glass bottle and a lighter at the scene2. Atlanta police officers witnessed the attack and chased the suspect on foot but could not catch him. FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Sean Matthews said agents, an evidence response team and Homeland Security Investigations were on scene within an hour. Hinton was taken into custody three days later, and officials said he surrendered peacefully at a home in Cobb County1.
Hertzberg said the attempted-arson charge carries a five-year mandatory minimum and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison, and the government-property count carries up to 10 years1. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a Thursday statement that ICE officers face "a more than 1,600% increase in assaults against them3."
Prosecutors have obtained a federal criminal complaint, and Hertzberg said his office will seek a hard sentence1.
Sources
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