DHS brass slam Virginia Beach principal accused in ‘chilling’ plot to lure, ambush ICE agents
FIRST ON FOX: Top brass at the Department of Homeland Security told Fox News Digital the agency’s Investigations unit is now on the case of a Virginia educator and his...
By Fox News · Fox News
FIRST ON FOX : Top brass at the Department of Homeland Security told Fox News Digital the agency’s Investigations unit is now on the case of a Virginia educator and his brother accused of plotting to attack ICE, potentially with explosive rounds. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Wednesday that Kempsville High School assistant principal John Wilson Bennett and his older brother Mark Booth Bennett were overheard at a Vietnamese restaurant in Virginia Beach allegedly conspiring to go to Nevada and plan attacks on ICE agents in retribution for what they claimed to be "kidnapping[s]" of civilians during recent immigration enforcement operations. "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’ bullet proof vests," McLaughlin said, after Fox News Digital originally reported on the adult brothers’ arrest days ago. "Thanks to Homeland Security Investigations and our partners, these men are behind bars." FLORIDA MAN NABBED BY HOMELAND SECURITY FOR ALLEGEDLY MAKING ONLINE DEATH THREATS AGAINST ICE 'GESTAPO' John Bennett has been faculty at the school, located in the inland part of Virginia Beach , since 2009. The school told local press that he is currently on leave. McLaughlin said DHS worked with law enforcement at all levels after an off-duty Norfolk police officer overheard the men at a Vietnamese restaurant in Virginia Beach on November 17 discussing plans to "kill police officers and ICE agents," with Mark Bennett allegedly saying he was planning to meet like-minded people in Las Vegas , where he would also purchase firearms with explosive rounds. Two days later, Mark Bennett was arrested at Norfolk International Airport en route to Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, to connect to Las Vegas. John Bennett was also arrested that day. FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL VOWS JUSTICE AFTER DHS AGENT'…