A man who identified himself as a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent confronted two attorneys in the hallway of the third floor of the Wake County Justice Center on Monday as they discussed an immigration-related case.
The incident set off alarm bells for many in the legal advocacy community who are concerned about enhanced immigration actions that the Trump administration has promised. While it’s not uncommon for ICE agents to operate in courthouses in coordination with county sheriff’s offices, agents roaming around in plain clothes is atypical, and ICE doesn’t usually conduct detainment or deportation efforts in county courts.
Dane Peddicord, a criminal defense attorney, says he was talking to another lawyer in the hallway when an unknown bald white man wearing a light blue sweater “sprints up to us, rushes up on us and points at us,” and “basically orders us to take our conversation elsewhere.” The man, who was not wearing a uniform, then flashed an ICE badge at the two attorneys, Peddicord says.
Peddicord says he and the other lawyer were discussing a plea for a client that “had immigration consequences.”
“[The agent] is being highly aggressive at this point,” Peddicord says. “For him to do that we were both absolutely gobsmacked.”
The three then stepped into District Court Judge Ashleigh Parker’s courtroom, where they recounted what happened before the judge—or in Peddicord’s words, to “have it on the record.”
In the clerk of court’s recording of that conversation, the other lawyer can be heard explaining that they were talking in the hallway and what happened. The other lawyer, whom we are not naming because of the sensitive nature of the situation, sounds upset.
“He flashed his badge in a show of authority,” Peddicord can then be heard telling the judge.
Parker asks the agent what his name is. His response is inaudible on the recording, but he says that he is with ICE and acknowledges he confronted the attorneys.
“All I asked them to do was if they could just not have that conversation right there,” the agent says.
“That is incorrect, your honor,” Peddicord says. The agent reiterates that he asked the pair to “have the conversation elsewhere.”
Parker establishes that neither attorney knew who the agent was, that the two were having a conversation in a public place, and notes that she doesn’t have authority over what happens outside of her courtroom.
The agent then speaks for several seconds, but the recording is largely inaudible. Parker says people are allowed to say what they want, where they want, outside of a courtroom.
“I just want to be clear that people have First Amendment rights,” Parker says. “We all agree with that.”
Parker says if the agent has an issue with the attorney’s conversation he can “take that up to the State Bar and say ‘This person was being unprofessional… .” She also tells the agent “you literally just put yourself out there because nobody knew who you were.
“Whenever you flash a badge, or whatever else, talking to them, I understand that you may have come with good intentions,” Parker says. “However, at that point, it has obviously escalated to the point that she’s [the other attorney] extremely upset.”
There’s some more back and forth until Parker ends the conversation.
“I’m sorry that this happened, y’all,” Parker says. “I mean, honestly, I just hope that we can all move forward. You’re trying to do your job. Y’all are trying to do your job. We’re all just trying to do our job the best that we can. And so that’s just where I’m at with it.”
The judge moves on to other matters. Parker, through a spokesperson, declined to comment for this story.
Peddicord says as he and his colleague were leaving the courtroom, the agent still kept trying to talk to them.
“The deputies followed us out and established a presence between us and him, because he was still being pretty aggressive,” Peddicord says.
A spokesperson from the sheriff’s office said they are aware of the incident that took place but that no one from their agency was involved.
“The presence of ICE agents in the Wake County Justice Center is not new, and our agencies have had, and will continue to have, a great working relationship,” the statement reads.
An emailed message to ICE was returned with a note stating that the message to ICE had been blocked. The media phone number for the agency did not appear to be working.
Peddicord says he and the other attorney, who was still shaken, then went up to the seventh floor of the courthouse to report the incident to Wake County’s chief superior court judge Paul Ridgeway.
Ridgeway declined to comment for this story.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman says it’s unusual to have plain clothes ICE agents at the Justice Center, and historically ICE has not conducted “detainment or deportation efforts within the courthouse as a general rule.” Such actions are usually coordinated through the sheriff’s department, she adds.
“We as the judicial leadership for the district have urged ICE that it is counter-productive for them to increase enforcement activities within the courthouse,” Freeman says. “We have a wide community of victims and witnesses and defendants who will stop coming to court if they are at risk of being taken into custody.”
Freeman adds that her office has not received new guidance from either ICE or the sheriff’s department regarding the presence of ICE agents in county courts.
“It would be our sincere hope that they don’t begin to increase enforcement here,” Freeman says.
Freeman says she is not aware of any ICE agents at the courthouse since the incident on Monday. She says her office has reached out to local ICE authorities to “make sure we continue to have that open communication and dialogue.”
Carli Brosseau contributed reporting to this story.
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