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

August 19, 2026 (Washington, D.C.) - Northern Virginia Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA), Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA), and James Walkinshaw (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.

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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 attempting to run the agents over and threatens her with arrest. Another agent says, "I will testify and lock you up." The claim of a deadly threat is obviously belied by both the video footage and their decision to leave her without detaining or charging her after she told them that she had dashcam footage of the encounter.

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.

ICE's own policies provide clear standards against which this conduct must be evaluated. Under ICE Directive 19009.3-which governs the use of force and firearms by ICE personnel-officers are strictly prohibited from the use of excessive force. The Directive explicitly states that officers are to "use force only when no reasonably effective, safe, and feasible alternative appears to exist" and may "only use the level of force that is objectively reasonable in light of the totality of facts and circumstances confronting the authorized officer at the time force is applied." It also states that violations of the policies and procedures outlined in the Directive "may be grounds for disciplinary action or other appropriate action."

ICE Directive 19010.3directs ICE agents to activate their body-worn cameras to capture footage at the start of enforcement activities or as soon as safely possible thereafter. The videos published by Ms. Molina show that at least three of the agents involved were equipped with body-worn cameras. Ms. Molina herself also recalls seeing the agent who brandished his gun press a button on his body-worn camera during the encounter. Ms. Molina's dashcam video also depicts another agent recording the interaction on a cellphone and another taking a photo of her license plate. ICE should therefore have its own contemporaneous record of this encounter. The agency should immediately preserve all body-worn camera footage, cellphone footage, and other records relating to the incident, as required by ICE Directive 19010.3.

Just as concerning as the incident itself is DHS's response to the incident. On August 11, DHS issued an unattributed statement referring to Ms. Molina as an "anti-ICE agitator" and claiming that she "attempted to harm officers by weaponizing her vehicle against them." DHS further stated that Ms. Molina "could face criminal prosecution." These are serious allegations, none of which are corroborated by the video footage publicly posted by Ms. Molina. The Department's accusation that she was "weaponizing her vehicle" is particularly concerning, as it is identical to previous claims made to justify the use of deadly force elsewhere that later collapsed after the production of video evidence, just as this one has. The similarities suggest that Department personnel are intentionally, nefariously, and systematically engaging in illegal intimidation and violence against American citizens under cover of false claims of danger.

Ms. Molina's dashcam footage shows the lead-up to the encounter, while her cellphone video captures the confrontation after ICE agents approached and surrounded her vehicle. Neither video shows any attempt by Ms. Molina to run over or otherwise endanger the ICE agents. The footage does, however, depict the ICE agents dangerously escalating the encounter by surrounding her vehicle and confronting her with a drawn firearm. The footage also captures ICE agents using intimidation rather than lawful enforcement to control members of the public who observe, criticize, or record their activities. 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.

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. We also request answers to the following questions:

For DOJ and FBI:

1. Please confirm when we can expect the FBI and Civil Rights Division to start an investigation.

For DHS:

1. Who are the ICE agents depicted in the videos recorded by Carolina Molina? Please provide the names, titles, positions, and functions of each agent involved in the encounter.
2. Did the ICE agents involved in the incident with Ms. Molina receive training on safely stopping and approaching vehicles? If so, what specific training did they receive, and did their actions comply with ICE policies and procedures?
3. Please state whether these agents have faced any disciplinary actions for violating ICE's use of force policies, improperly displaying a firearm, or otherwise endangering Ms. Molina and members of the public. If yes, who has faced discipline and on what grounds? If no disciplinary action has been initiated, why not?
4. Are these agents currently authorized and deployed to conduct immigration enforcement operations in public spaces?
5. Has any DHS supervisor, field office, or other oversight body opened an investigation into this incident? If so, which office was designated to review the incident? What is the status of that investigation and what are they investigating?
6. Was a use of force report or other incident report created as a result of the agent drawing and pointing his firearm at Ms. Molina? If so, was such a report completed? Provide a copy to our offices.
7. Has ICE determined whether the agent who drew and pointed his firearm directly at Ms. Molina complied with Directive 19009.3? If so, please identify the specific provisions supporting that determination.
8. ICE should have its own record of this encounter. Please provide our offices with all complete and unedited body-worn camera footage, cellphone and vehicle footage, and any other records relating to the incident.
   1. If the body-worn camera did not record the encounter, please explain why not and whether the agent complied with all applicable requirements under ICE Directive 19010.3 governing body-worn cameras.
9. When ICE agents menaced Ms. Molina for the "offense" of "recording us," was this violation of her First Amendment rights consistent with their training from the Department? Given the recurring pattern of ICE and other DHS agents menacing citizens for legally and constitutionally protected activities, what corrective actions will your agencies take to prevent systematic violations of Americans' constitutional rights from continuing?

Please provide a response no later than Monday, August 31, 2026.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. We look forward to your response.