Viral video shows ICE agent pointing gun at driver during Falls Church encounter

FALLS CHURCH, VA. - A cellphone and dashcam video went viral showing a tense interaction between a Northern Virginia woman and federal immigration agents in Falls Church, during which an ICE agent appears to point a gun at her inside her vehicle.

Carolina Molina, a licensed professional counselor born and raised in Northern Virginia, works with attorneys to conduct psychological evaluations in immigration cases, according to FOX 5 reporting.

What they're saying:

Around 3 p.m. on Monday, Molina said she was visiting law offices near Columbia Pike to distribute business cards when she encountered ICE agents who appeared to be arresting two men.

Molina said she rolled down her window, told the agents she believed what they were doing was wrong and drove off to continue her work. Shortly after, needing to return to one of the offices, she made a U-turn. That is when the interaction quickly turned confrontational, according to her. 

Molina told FOX 5 that the agents blocked her vehicle. Cellphone footage captures an agent accusing her of nearly striking them.

"You almost ran us over," the agent yells.

"I didn't almost run you over," Molina responds.

The agent then threatened to arrest Molina and lock her up. Video provided to FOX 5 appears to show an ICE agent drawing a firearm and pointing it toward Molina as she remained inside her car.

Molina disputed the agents' claims that she put anyone in danger.

"If I did try to run someone over, you think I'd get arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon," Molina said. "And none of those things occurred because they were all lies. Once I said, ‘I have video, I have a dashcam,’ they went on their merry way."

Molina was never asked to exit her vehicle, was not arrested and was ultimately allowed to leave, she said.

"I understand how these situations can get so crazy [that] people can lose their lives," Molina said. "I have kids, a husband, parents, a brother. I'm not going to put myself in a situation like this."

Dig deeper:

The encounter comes amid heightened scrutiny surrounding federal immigration enforcement operations in Northern Virginia, drawing sharp condemnation from civil rights advocates.

READ MORE: Multiple ICE arrests reported across northern Virginia causing 'wave of anxiety'

"The footage circulating of armed government agents pointing a gun at a Falls Church resident parked in her car is another example of the Trump administration’s violent anti-immigrant agenda terrorizing our communities and putting our civil liberties at risk," ACLU-VA Policy Director Chris Kaiser Caid in a statement provided to FOX 5 D.C. 

In a statement, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson claimed that "an anti-ICE agitator began to drive her car in circles around our ICE officers and then attempted to harm officers by weaponizing her vehicle against them." 

"Fearing for their safety, ICE officers conducted a vehicle stop of the driver," the statement went on. "Necessary background information of the driver was taken, and she could face criminal prosecution as a result of her actions."