A bewildering report came out in The Daily Progress this week. FBI agents apparently coordinated early morning visits to two local public defenders’ homes on Friday, May 23.Â
Those public defenders told The Daily Progress that the agents were seeking information related to the detention of two men by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Albemarle County Courthouse on April 22. Specifically, they were asking about two women who had requested identification and arrest warrants from three men attempting to detain another individual.
The men, later confirmed to be ICE agents, were dressed in plain clothes. One wore a balaclava that covered his face. None of them provided identification or a warrant to the men they were detaining at the courthouse, bystanders said.
For Daily Progress subscribers: FBI shows up at Charlottesville public defender’s home unannounced after ICE raid
Shortly after the incident, a spokesperson for ICE said that the agency intended to prosecute the women who intervened in the detention.
Neither the FBI nor any other federal agency contacted by The Daily Progress commented about the early morning visits. But the public defenders say they fear the move was meant to intimidate them.
“I’m angry,” Donald Bellah, one of the public defenders, told Daily Progress reporter Hawes Spencer. “It was intending to intimidate us.”
Jail renovation stalls after contractor bids exceed budget
Controversial renovations to the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail were stalled last week after bids for the project came in over budget.
The jail administrators and board members must now review the bids and make adjustments, officials say.
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As we continue to track and report on these issues, we want to hear directly from community members about how federal immigration policies are affecting folks in central Virginia. If you’d like to share your story, with or without giving your name publicly, please send us a message at this link. We do not share your information without express consent. Prefer to leave us a voice message? Call (434) 218-3649 and give us as much information as you can in your message. You can also reach our newsroom on Signal at (434) 218-3649 or @cvilletomorrow.05.
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Take care, everyone,
Jessie Higgins, Democracy Editor
