Northern Virginia Representatives, Democratic Leaders Open Investigation Into ICE Agents Threatening U.S. Citizen With Gun In Northern Virginia

This press release from Representative James R. Walkinshaw (D-VA) was published on 2026-08-19 and titled "Northern Virginia Representatives, Democratic Leaders Open Investigation Into ICE Agents Threatening U.S. Citizen With G".

Northern Virginia Representatives, Democratic Leaders Open Investigation Into ICE Agents Threatening U.S. Citizen With Gun In Northern Virginia

Northern Virginia Representatives James Walkinshaw (D-VA), Don Beyer (D-VA), and Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA), along with House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-CA), House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and House Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (D-MS), today opened an investigation into an August 10 encounter in Falls Church, Virginia, during which a masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent pointed a gun directly at Carolina Molina, a U.S. citizen and Northern Virginia resident, without justification. The lawmakers sought answers and a full investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and review by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division, and demanded that the ICE agents involved in the encounter be placed on administrative leave pending the conclusion of the investigation and review. Video footage recorded by Carolina Molina on August 10 shows unmarked vehicles blocking her car from the front and rear before masked ICE agents approach her. One agent then draws his firearm and points it directly at Ms. Molina. The agent is then heard accusing her of “following” and “recording” the agents before subsequently accusing her of attempting to run them over and threatening her with arrest—an accusation that is not supported by the available footage, which shows no attempt by Ms. Molina to run over or otherwise endanger the agents. In a letter addressed to Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, and Acting ICE Director David Venturella, and copied to DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, the lawmakers condemned the dangerous and unjustified escalation captured on video and demanded answers about the ICE agents involved, including their use of force and threats against Ms. Molina for exercising her right to record federal officers. The lawmakers also condemned DHS’s subsequent dishonest statements about the incident, including its characterization of Ms. Molina as an “anti-ICE agitator” and allegation that she “attempted to harm officers by weaponizing her vehicle.” The Members wrote: “This footage and the incident it depicts are deeply concerning. They echo the larger pattern of dishonesty and dangerous, unjustified escalation we have unfortunately seen from DHS agents across the country, which resulted in the tragic deaths of Ruben Ray Martinez, Renee Good, Alex Pretti, Joan Sebastian Durán Guerrero, and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.” … “What happened to Carolina Molina cannot be dismissed as an ordinary interaction between ICE and a member of the public. We therefore request that the FBI conduct a formal investigation into this incident, and that the DOJ Civil Rights Division evaluates those findings. We also request that DHS immediately preserve all records related to this encounter – including body-worn camera footage, cellphone and vehicle footage, use of force and incident reports, and internal communications.” Full text of the letter follows below, and a signed copy is available here . *** Dear Attorney General Blanche, Director Patel, Secretary Mullin, and Acting Director Venturella: We write to request an immediate Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigation and Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division review into the conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during an enforcement operation in the Bailey’s Crossroads neighborhood of Falls Church, Virginia, on Monday, August 10, 2026. We urge you to place the agents involved in this incident on leave until the conclusion of the investigation and review of their conduct. Videos shared with us by Carolina Molina, a U.S. citizen and Northern Virginia resident, depict a disturbing encounter in which masked ICE agents blocked her car with their vehicles, approached her car, and pointed a firearm directly at her without any provocation or threat posed by Ms. Molina to the agents. The videos captured on Ms. Molina’s dashcam and cellphone raise serious concerns about the agents’ unjustified escalation, use of force, blatant dishonesty, and call into serious question the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) subsequent response. Carolina Molina was visiting immigration law offices in Bailey’s Crossroads on August 10, where she volunteered her services as a licensed professional counselor to immigration clients in need of mental health assessments. After seeing ICE agents operating in the vicinity, Ms. Molina attempted to leave the area. At this point, unmarked vehicles positioned themselves in front of and behind her vehicle, effectively boxing her in. Masked ICE agents then emerged from the vehicles and approached her car. One agent had drawn his firearm and pointed it directly at Ms. Molina. In the videos recorded by Ms. Molina, an ICE agent with his gun pointed at her shouts at her for “following” them and for “recording” them. Then the ICE agent accuses her of