A Virginia school principal was arrested earlier this month for allegedly plotting to ambush Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin on Wednesday highlighted the incident as proof of growing hostility against federal law enforcement.
ICE agents have faced a significant surge in violence in 2025, with the DHS reporting 238 assaults between January 31 and November 21 alone.
“They [DHS agents] risk their lives every single day to remove the worst of the worst, including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, terrorists, and gang members,” she told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
“From bounties placed on their heads for their murders, threats to their families, stalking, and doxxing online, our officers are experiencing an unprecedented level of violence and threats against them and their families,” McLaughlin said.
The arrest came two days after an off-duty police officer overheard the Virginia Beach principal and his brother planning attacks on federal officers in Nevada involving firearms with multiple rounds.
“It’s chilling that a human being, much less a child educator, would plot to ambush and kill ICE law enforcement officers — offering such specifics as to getting a high-caliber rifle that would pierce the law enforcements’ bulletproof vests,” McLaughlin stated.
Her remarks resembled similar comments she made to the Washington Examiner in October.
“These are the consequences of conduct and rhetoric by sanctuary politicians and activists who urge illegal aliens to resist arrest,” she said.
“Resisting arrest puts the safety of illegal aliens, law enforcement, and the public at risk. Our law enforcement officers are facing a more than 1000% increase in assaults against them, including vehicle rammings by illegal aliens,” she said.
DHS BLAMES LEFT-WING RHETHORIC AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RAMS ICE OFFICER WITH CAR
McLaughlin attributed the surge in violence to rhetoric pushed by left-wing opposition.
“These are the consequences of conduct and rhetoric by sanctuary politicians and activists who urge illegal aliens to resist arrest,” she added.
