Commonwealth’s Attorney won’t back down from investigating ICE action at Albemarle courthouse

Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Hingeley isn’t backing down from his position that the method U.S. Immigration and Customs agents used to arrest two men at the Albemarle County Courthouse last week “constitutes a grave danger to our community.”

Nor is Hingeley shutting down his investigation into the matter, even after an unnamed ICE spokesperson blasted the Albemarle official, accusing him of using the moment to “gain political capital.”

Some quick background: Three men in plain clothes — one who put on a balaclava covering his face at one point — entered the Albemarle courthouse April 22, placed two men in handcuffs and escorted them out of the building. Two women asked the men to display warrants before taking anyone from the courthouse. Bystanders say the men did not immediately identify themselves as federal agents, nor did they present the people they detained with any identification or arrest warrants.

They were heard on a video taken at the scene telling the women they were agents with the Department of Homeland Security.

“I am grateful that no one was hurt in this operation,” Hingeley said in a statement after the arrest. “But I am also greatly concerned that arrests carried out in this manner could escalate into a violent confrontation, because the person being arrested or bystanders might resist what appears on its face to be an unlawful assault and abduction.”

He added that he will “continue to investigate and to consider what appropriate responses, if any, may be warranted in the exercise of my discretion as Commonwealth’s Attorney.”

An ICE spokesperson reacted strongly to Hingeley’s statement, saying he was “posturing for the media and attempting to disgrace the brave officers who made the lawful apprehension in coordination with his office.” In that statement, the unnamed spokesperson also said the U.S. Attorney’s Office “intends to prosecute” the two bystanders who asked to see an arrest warrant.

Hingeley was undeterred by the ICE statement, saying that he had already “received input from the federal agencies involved in making the arrests.”

“All the more reason, it seems to me, to conclude that the ICE spokesperson’s attack on my integrity was misguided,” he continued. “I leave it to my constituents to decide who was “posturing for the media.'”

If you’d like to learn more about these arrests and the aftermath, The Daily Progress has written extensively about the incident in articles that quote local and federal officials. The newspaper has also tracked down some information about the two individuals ICE arrested last week. Here’s a recent report in which Hingeley responds to the ICE accusations.

We’ll continue following this incident. You can read more of our coverage of the local impact of Trump administration policies here.

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Take care everyone,
Jessie Higgins, Democracy Editor