(The Center Square) – Dozens of Americans have been arrested for attempting to kill ICE agents or threatening to kill them in the past two weeks. Recent examples are in Texas, Ohio and Washington, D.C.
In Texas, after a week-long manhunt, FBI agents tracked down and arrested Benjamin Hanil Song, the last alleged shooter involved in a July 4 planned ambush of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center near Dallas. Song, a former U.S. Marine Corps reservist, purchased four of the guns associated with the ambush, according to the criminal complaint. He was charged with three counts of attempted murder of federal agents and three counts of discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.
He was the 14th person arrested after an Alvarado Police Department officer was shot in the neck and survived. On July 8, warrants were issued out of Johnson County for his arrest for “Aiding Terrorism, Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon on a Public Servant, and Engaging in Organized Crime.” He was apprehended eight days later, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons thanked the FBI for finding and arresting him, adding that political rhetoric largely led by Democrats has resulted in an unprecedented number of attacks against ICE agents. In the first six months of this year, attacks against ICE agents increased by more than 830%, compared to the same time period last year, the Department of Homeland Security said.
“It’s horrifying that dangerous rhetoric, often spread by elected officials, has brought us to this point, but let this be an example to other people planning on terrorizing federal law enforcement officers: If you attack the brave men and women protecting this nation from dangerous criminal aliens, we will arrest you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law,” Lyons said.
In Ohio, ICE Homeland Security Investigations and FBI officers arrested Cincinnati resident Anthony Marcus Kelly after he allegedly made multiple online threats to shoot and kill ICE officers. He faces charges of threatening to assault, kidnap or murder a federal official and transmitting communications containing threats to kidnap or injure another person.
An investigation was launched after law enforcement officials became aware of a social media user named “Slab” posting calls for the killing of ICE officers and claiming to have purchased firearms to do so. Investigators were able to trace the posts to Kelly, ICE said.
In one post, ICE said he wrote, “Why even bother with these damn courts anymore. #Gestapedos don’t deserve anything but the smoke coming for them anyway. #RevolutionIsTheSolution #DestroyICE they’re rabid dogs that need to be put down. Including #KristiNoem #DogmeatWalking.”
In another: “I’m shooting for the kill. I won’t give a **** about your names, who you are, or anything else,” according to the investigation.
“Let me be crystal clear: Threatening to kill a federal officer is not protest – it’s terrorism,” Lyons said. “Anthony Kelly’s violent threats, while disgusting and completely unhinged, are a symptom of a larger problem: Politicians are trying to turn our law enforcement officials into targets by scaring their constituents and whipping them into a frenzy in a fact-free vacuum.
“This is what happens when anti-ICE activists don’t realize or care that we’re out there arresting rapists, murderers and child molesters who are in this country illegally. Enough is enough. Anyone who targets ICE personnel will be met with swift, unrelenting justice.”
“Calling for violence against federal law enforcement is not protected by the First Amendment,” HSI Detroit acting Special Agent in Charge Jared Murphey added. “At great personal risk, ICE agents and officers faithfully enforce laws passed by our representatives in Congress. If members of the public disagree with our nation’s laws, they need to write their representatives, not threaten violence against those charged with carrying out the law.”
In Washington, D.C., local resident Sydney Lori Reid was arrested on charges of assaulting federal agents who were helping transfer an international gang member at the D.C. Central Detention Facility. She was charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers or employees, ICE announced.
“Sydney Lori Reid actively and intentionally assaulted federal law enforcement officers while they were taking custody of two apparent gang members and dangerous individuals,” ICE HSI Washington, D.C. acting Special Agent in Charge Christopher Heck said. “Her actions could have led to serious injuries to federal agents, as well as two criminal alien offenders absconding justice and reoffending in our Washington, D.C. community.”
