Georgia Man Charged in Molotov Cocktail Attack on Atlanta ICE Building, Prosecutors Call It Terrorism

A 31-year-old Georgia man has been charged with throwing a Molotov cocktail at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in downtown Atlanta, in what the top federal prosecutor in the area called "an act of terrorism," Fox News reported.

Inique Hinton of Douglasville was charged with 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. The FBI arrested him at a residence in Cobb County, prosecutors said.

What Prosecutors Say Happened at the Atlanta ICE Building

According to prosecutors, security cameras captured Hinton walking near the ICE building at 180 Ted Turner Drive just before 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 20. Minutes later, prosecutors allege, he lit an object and threw it toward the building, where it struck the exterior fence and flames spread.

Investigators recovered burned cloth, lighter fluid, a glass bottle and a lighter at the scene, Fox News reported. Atlanta police officers saw the incident and tried to chase the suspect but could not catch 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.

If convicted, Hinton faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in federal prison on the attempted arson charge. The government property charge carries up to 10 years, according to the report.

Prosecutor Vows to Respond With Extreme Severity

"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," U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said at a news conference.

"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 said.

Hertzberg noted that the same ICE building was targeted about six years ago, 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."

The charges are allegations, and Hinton is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Image: Downtown Atlanta at night (file photo), Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Yossi Schmidt, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Digital Free Press

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Sources: Fox News, "FBI arrests Georgia man accused of throwing Molotov cocktail at Atlanta ICE facility" (Oct. 24, 2026): https://www.foxnews.com/us/fbi-arrests-georgia-man-accused-throwing-molotov-cocktail-atlanta-ice-facility