According to the Department of Homeland Security, 36-year-old Bratton Dean Wilkinson approached the Dallas Field Office on North Stemmons Freeway around 6:35 p.m. Monday. Authorities say Wilkinson was wearing a backpack, which he claimed had a bomb inside it, and a security officer said Wilkinson showed him an apparent “detonator” on his wrist.
Bratton Dean Wilkinson smiles while mid-arrest after making a bomb threat at the Dallas ICE office.
Department of Homeland Security
Wilkinson is a U.S. citizen, authorities say. Dallas Police responded to the scene after a 911 call was made and the facility was placed under shelter-in-place orders, which were lifted after 30 minutes.
Wilkinson was charged with making terroristic threats. In a photo published by DHS, Wilkinson stands handcuffed, smiling at the camera mid-arrest.
The Dallas field office also handles detainee processing and removal operations. Several North Texas congressional leaders have called on Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons to address reports that conditions within the facility are “unacceptable” to the point that they could be in “serious violation of detainees' basic human rights.”
Local ICE officials have told reporters that allegations of inhumane conditions within the facility are false.
DHS officials say Wilkinson’s threat comes amid a slew of attacks on immigration officers. In July, ten people were charged with attempted murder after a police officer was shot at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas. According to authorities, a group of people shot off fireworks at the facility, vandalized vehicles and fired a gun at officers.
U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas Nancy E. Larson said in a statement that the events were “an ambush on federal and local law enforcement officers.”
In a statement, the agency urged activists and the media to stop “comparing ICE law enforcement to the Nazi Gestapo, kidnappers and the Secret Police,” blaming the rhetoric for ramping up “a culture of hate against law enforcement.”
On a completely unrelated note, have you checked out our report about the masked ICE agents that lounge around Dallas’ federal immigration court waiting to grab people after their hearings? You should.
