“This footage and the incident it depict 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.
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ICE Agent Points a Gun at a U.S. Citizen in Northern Virginia; Her Dashcam Video Contradicts the DHS Account
August 14, 2026
On Monday, August 10, 2026, ICE officers conducting what the Department of Homeland Security described as a targeted enforcement operation in the Bailey's Crossroads area near Falls Church, Virginia, drew a firearm on Carolina Molina — a U.S. citizen, Northern Virginia native and licensed professional counselor who performs psychological evaluations in immigration cases. Molina says she was driving between immigration attorneys' offices dropping off business cards when she saw agents making arrests, and that she shouted at them from her car. DHS said in a statement that an "anti-ICE agitator began to drive her car in circles around our ICE officers and then attempted to harm officers by weaponizing her vehicle against them — all in an attempt to help illegal aliens get away," and that officers stopped her vehicle fearing for their safety. Molina's dashcam footage, which she released and which went viral on August 12, does not show her driving at the officers; a masked agent is seen approaching her window with a gun pointed at her, telling her "you almost ran us over." Molina was not arrested or charged. Fairfax County's Mason District Supervisor Andres Jimenez said the federal account "does not match the video." Northern Virginia's House delegation responded within a day. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA-8), whose district includes Falls Church, said his office had contacted Molina and that he would demand "answers and consequences." Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA-11), who represents most of Fairfax County, called it a product of ICE's broken accountability system. Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA-10), in whose district Molina lives, tied the encounter to a national pattern of armed confrontations between ICE agents and American citizens. The incident landed as ICE was promising to have every field officer equipped with a body camera by the end of August — a rollout already under scrutiny over provisions letting agency leadership withhold footage after serious injuries or deaths in custody.
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“Last week, ICE agents threatened Carolina Molina with a gun and lied about her following them and trying to run them over. This dangerous and dishonest nonsense, unfortunately, matches what we’ve seen from ICE, not just in Virginia, but across the country. We want these agents off our streets and out of our communities.
“Carolina Molina is not only a constituent, she’s a mother. She’s a wife, she’s a daughter, she’s a sister. If not for her dash cam on her car, I don’t know what would have happened to Carolina Molina. In so many situations there is not a camera, and it’s the ICE officers sometimes making up stories about the person they have harassed or intimidated or pulled a gun on.
“This footage and the incident it depict 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.
“This footage and the incident it depict 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.
“This footage and the incident it depict 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.
“There must be an increase in transparency, accountability, and safety in immigration law enforcement.
“They have no right to attack someone who exercises their First Amendment right to free speech. If ICE doesn't want to have people jeer at them wherever they go, they should change their tactics.
“We do need to do immigration reform, but not like this. We do need to do immigration enforcement, but not like this.
“Any ICE officer who abuses their power in this way must be investigated & held accountable.
“I've been in touch with the woman in this video. She's a U.S. citizen and lives in my district. How many more videos like this will we need to see, with Americans having guns pulled on them by Trump's untrained ICE agents, before we get real accountability from ICE?
“While I am relieved that she is safe, the habitual dishonesty and dangerous and unjustified escalation seen in this video matches what we have seen from ICE agents across the country. This kind of misconduct and threat of force against members of our communities cannot be tolerated. I will be demanding answers and consequences.