Federal authorities arrested a 31-year-old Georgia man Thursday after he allegedly hurled a Molotov cocktail at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in downtown Atlanta earlier this week. Prosecutors called the incident an “act of terrorism.”
Inique Hinton of Douglasville faces charges of attempted arson of a federal building and depredation of government property, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia said.
“An attack on federal property is an attack against our democracy. It is an act of terrorism. It is an act of political violence, and it cannot stand,” U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said at a news conference.
Prosecutors said surveillance footage showed Hinton walking near the ICE building at 180 Ted Turner Drive shortly before 8:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Federal prosecutors said Inique Hinton, 31, of Douglasville, Georgia, was arrested and charged with attempted arson of a federal building after allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at an ICE facility in downtown Atlanta. (FBI)
A few minutes later, investigators allege, Hinton set an object on fire and threw it toward the facility. The device struck the exterior fence, where flames began to spread.
Authorities recovered burned cloth, lighter fluid, a glass bottle and a lighter from the scene, according to investigators.
FBI agents arrested Hinton Thursday at a residence in Cobb County.
“This was obviously an attack directed at the ICE facility,” Hertzberg said. He added that prosecutors would respond with “extreme severity” to make clear that such conduct “is not OK.”
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“We can talk about immigration, we can have civil discourse, but we cannot allow criminal acts, terroristic acts, like the one that was committed three days ago in our city,” Hertzberg said.
Federal prosecutors said surveillance video allegedly captures a suspect approaching an ICE facility in downtown Atlanta and throwing an incendiary device toward the building. (FBI)
Hertzberg said the Atlanta ICE building had also been targeted about six years ago, during the summer of 2020.
“I want to make very clear we are not going back to that,” he said. “We will not tolerate attacks on government property and attacks against federal law enforcement.”
Atlanta police witnessed the attack and tried to chase the suspect, but they could not catch him that night. The FBI later released photos of an unidentified suspect and announced a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to his identification and arrest.
If convicted of attempted arson, Hinton faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in federal prison. The charge involving government property carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.
Federal authorities said an Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in downtown Atlanta was targeted in an alleged Molotov cocktail attack on Oct. 20. (AP Photo/Kate Brumback)
The investigation is ongoing, authorities said.