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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.
Hertzberg also said the Atlanta ICE building had previously been targeted approximately six years earlier 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 incident and attempted to pursue the suspect but were unable to apprehend him that night. The FBI later released images of an unidentified suspect and offered a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to his identification and arrest.
Hinton faces a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison if convicted of attempted arson, while the government-property charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.
Authorities said the investigation remains ongoing.