The chief prosecutor in Fairfax County, Virginia, is reviewing footage of an ICE agent pointing a gun at a woman after she shouted profanities at the officers for conducting immigration enforcement.
The Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said it was looking into Monday’s encounter between Carolina Molina, a licensed personal counselor, and the ICE agents who cornered her in Falls Church, about 10 miles southwest of Washington, D.C.
“We have heard from community members who are concerned about this situation. We are aware of the incident and are reviewing it,” Laura Birnbaum, the public information officer for the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney, told The Independent.
Molina, who works with immigration lawyers to conduct psychological evaluations, says she was dropping business cards off at lawyers’ offices when she saw agents making arrests and yelled at them out her car window: “You’re a hoe, you f***ed up.”
Dashcam and cellphone video show ICE vehicles pulling up in front of and behind Molina’s vehicle, before a masked agent approached her driver’s-side window with a gun drawn.
open image in galleryThe agent shouted at Molina, “Are you following us?” to which she replied, “No, I’m not.”
“You need to stop following us,” the agent said in the video. “This is your warning.”
He added: “You almost ran us over.”
Molina replied: “I didn’t almost run you over. You’re so full of s***.”
“Stop playing. Alright? You’re not being funny. I will arrest you; keep it up,” the agent yelled back.
Molina has denied following or threatening the agents. She said she drove in a circle around the parking lot before turning around because she didn’t want ICE agents following her into the immigration lawyer’s office in case an immigrant was inside.
“I think my life was in danger at that point,” Molina said Tuesday during a news conference alongside local immigrant-rights groups. “I think they should be investigated, and if their body cam was on, then put it out there.”
open image in galleryMolina said that she told agents she was a U.S. citizen and that she had dashcam footage of the incident. The agents eventually let her leave without detaining her.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said that ICE was conducting “targeted immigration enforcement” against undocumented immigrants with criminal charges of hit-and-run as well as drug trafficking.”
The spokesperson said that an “anti-ICE agitator” was driving circles around ICE officers and tried to harm them by “weaponizing” her vehicle.
“Fearing for their safety, ICE officers conducted a vehicle stop of the driver,” the spokesperson added.
The agency said Molina could face criminal prosecution. She was not arrested and has not been charged following the encounter.
While the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said it is reviewing the incident, it declined to provide any other information.