A 31-year-old Georgia man was charged Friday with federal crimes after authorities allege he threw a Molotov cocktail at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building in downtown Atlanta on Tuesday evening.
Inique Hinton, of Douglasville, Georgia, faces charges of attempted arson of a federal building and depredation of government property, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia. Security footage allegedly shows Hinton igniting an object before throwing it toward the multistory brick building around 8:15 p.m. Tuesday. The device struck the exterior fence, causing flames to spread.
Investigators recovered burned cloth, lighter fluid, a glass bottle, and a lighter at the scene, the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated. Hinton was arrested Thursday at a residence in Cobb County and taken into custody without incident. Court records do not list an attorney for Hinton, and neither the U.S. Attorney’s Office nor a public defender’s office immediately responded to inquiries about legal representation.
Federal prosecutors describe the incident as a deliberate attack on government property. U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said during a news conference that law enforcement’s response was "exemplary" and that prosecutors would pursue the case with "extreme severity" to send a message. Hertzberg also noted that the Atlanta ICE building had been targeted approximately six years earlier, during the summer of 2020.
If convicted, Hinton faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the arson charge and up to 10 years for the depredation charge, according to prosecutors. The building houses ICE offices and an immigration court, surrounded by a metal fence.
Hertzberg did not indicate whether Hinton had a prior criminal record. The FBI led the investigation, with assistance from local law enforcement. No injuries were reported in connection with the incident.
The case remains under federal jurisdiction, with proceedings pending in the Northern District of Georgia.