Federal authorities arrested a 31-year-old Georgia man Thursday for allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building in downtown Atlanta earlier this week in what prosecutors described as an “act of terrorism.”
Inique Hinton of Douglasville was charged with attempted arson of a federal building and depredation of government property, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
“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,” US Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said during a news conference.
According to prosecutors, security cameras captured Hinton walking near the ICE building at 180 Ted Turner Drive just before 8:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Minutes later, he allegedly ignited an object and threw it toward the facility, striking the exterior fence and causing flames to spread.
Investigators said they recovered burned cloth, lighter fluid, a glass bottle and a lighter at the scene.
Hinton was arrested Thursday by the FBI at a residence in Cobb County.
“This was obviously an attack directed at the ICE facility,” Hertzberg said, adding that prosecutors would respond with “extreme severity” because “we need to send the message that this is not OK.”
“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,” he continued. --->READ MORE HERE
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Inique Hinton, 31 of Douglasville, is facing federal charges in this case.
Authorities have arrested a suspect accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail toward the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Atlanta. The attempted arson attack happened Tuesday night.
On Friday, Theodore Hertzberg, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, announced the arrest of Inique Hinton. He shared the update alongside federal partners and local law enforcement. Hinton is being charged with damaging a building by use of fire or explosives (known as arson) and damaging government property in connection with the attempted attack. Both are federal charges.
According to authorities, Hinton was walking by on Oct. 20 and allegedly tried to start a fire by throwing an incendiary device at the building, located at 180 Ted Turner Drive. Officials claimed he ignited an item and then threw it. It hit a fence, and flames began to spread.
Hertzberg's office said investigators recovered burned cloth, lighter fluid, a glass bottle and a lighter at the scene. 11Alive photos show damage to the fence.
"The ICE building is an Immigration and Customs Enforcement building that houses the Atlanta immigration court and the offices of the principal legal advisor to ICE and HSI, as well as enforcement and removal operations under ICE," Hertzberg said.
A day after the arson attempt, FBI agents released photos of the person they were looking for and announced that a reward of up to $20,000 was being offered for information.
"The individual was caught on camera, and APD saw the incident happen and tried to pursue the individual responsible," Hertzberg said Friday night. "Unfortunately, they were not able to apprehend him that day, but due to the exemplary work of the FBI working together with APD and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, a suspect was identified quickly." --->READ MORE HERE
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