NORTHERN VIRGINIA, VA — Three Northern Virginia representatives and Democratic congressional leaders are seeking a federal investigation after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was recorded pointing a gun at a U.S. citizen during an encounter in Bailey's Crossroads.
U.S. Reps. Don Beyer, Suhas Subramanyam and James Walkinshaw joined the ranking Democrats on three House committees in sending an Aug. 19 letter to leaders of the Justice Department, FBI, Department of Homeland Security and ICE. The lawmakers asked that the agents involved be placed on administrative leave while the encounter is investigated.
The incident involved Carolina Molina, a licensed professional counselor and Northern Virginia resident who recorded ICE agents approaching her vehicle Aug. 10. The Department of Homeland Security has accused Molina of trying to endanger officers with her vehicle, an account that Molina and the lawmakers dispute.
According to the congressional letter, Molina was visiting immigration law offices in Bailey's Crossroads, where she had volunteered to provide mental health assessments for immigration clients.
After seeing ICE agents nearby, Molina attempted to leave the area, the lawmakers said. Unmarked vehicles then positioned themselves in front of and behind her car, blocking it.
Dashcam and cellphone videos recorded by Molina show masked agents approaching her vehicle. One agent draws a firearm and points it toward Molina.
The agent can be heard accusing Molina of following and recording the officers. He later alleges that she attempted to run them over and threatens her with arrest. Another agent says, "I will testify and lock you up."
The lawmakers said Molina was not detained or charged after telling the agents that her dashcam had recorded the encounter.
"This footage and the incident it depicts are deeply concerning," the members wrote. "They echo the larger pattern of dishonesty and dangerous, unjustified escalation we have unfortunately seen from DHS agents across the country."
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The letter said at least three of the agents appeared to have body-worn cameras. Molina also recalled seeing the agent who pointed the gun press a button on his camera, according to the lawmakers. Her dashcam footage shows another agent recording with a cellphone and an agent photographing her license plate, the letter said.
The request follows separate calls for action after another ICE encounter in Arlington. Arlington County Commonwealth's Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti urged county police to investigate the Aug. 11 detention of José Mejía Hernandez, who reported suffering serious injuries during his arrest. Beyer also sought more information about the encounter and said the facts must be established to determine whether ICE agents used unjustified violence.
DHS offered a sharply different description after the encounter.
In an unattributed Aug. 11 statement cited in the letter, the department called Molina an "anti-ICE agitator" and alleged that she "attempted to harm officers by weaponizing her vehicle against them." DHS also said Molina could face criminal prosecution.
In its response previously provided to Patch, DHS said Molina drove in circles around ICE officers during a targeted immigration enforcement operation. The agency said officers stopped her vehicle because they feared for their safety and collected information for a background check.
The lawmakers said Molina's videos do not show her attempting to run over or otherwise endanger the agents. The available footage instead shows the agents surrounding her car and confronting her with a drawn gun, according to the letter.
"Whatever the agents' views of her conduct, criticism, and recording of federal agents in public do not justify federal officers escalating that encounter or threatening a civilian with a firearm," the lawmakers wrote.
The letter was signed by Beyer, Subramanyam and Walkinshaw, along with House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia of California, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin of Maryland and House Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Bennie Thompson of Mississippi.
It was addressed to Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and acting ICE Director David Venturella. DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari was copied on the letter.
The members asked the FBI to open a formal investigation and requested that the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division review its findings.
"What happened to Carolina Molina cannot be dismissed as an ordinary interaction between ICE and a member of the public," they wrote.
The lawmakers also asked DHS to preserve body-camera recordings, cellphone and vehicle footage, use-of-force reports, incident reports and internal communications involving the encounter.
Their questions include whether the agents were trained to stop and approach vehicles safely, whether any agent has faced disciplinary action and whether ICE determined that the decision to point a gun at Molina complied with the agency's use-of-force policy.
The letter also seeks the agents' names, positions and roles; copies of available recordings; and an explanation if any body-worn camera failed to capture the encounter.
Federal officials were asked to respond by Aug. 31.
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