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SEATTLE (AP) 鈥� Inside a Virginia courthouse, three immigration agents in plainclothes 鈥� one masked 鈥� detained a man who had just had misdemeanor assault charges dismissed. They declined to show identification or a warrant to the man, and one threatened to prosecute horrified witnesses who tried to intervene, cellphone video shows.

In North Carolina, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement four people at a county courthouse, according to local media reports, prompting the sheriff to express concerns about a lack of communication from the agency as well as about disruption to court proceedings.

Inside a courthouse in New Hampshire, a pair of agents tackled a Venezuelan man outside an elevator, flattening an older man with a cane in the process. And in Boston, an ICE agent detained a man who was on trial. A municipal court judge held the agent in contempt over the arrest, but the order was later overturned by a federal judge.

The flurry of immigration enforcement at courthouses around the country in the past month 鈥� already heavily criticized by judicial officials and lawyers 鈥� has renewed a legal battle from President Donald Trump’s first term as advocates fear people might avoid coming to court.

It’s drawing further attention with last Friday’s arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan in Wisconsin. The FBI arrested Dugan on charges that she tried to help a defendant evade waiting federal agents by letting him leave her courtroom through a jury door.

鈥淪ome of these judges think they are beyond and above the law and they are not, and we鈥檙e sending a very strong message today,鈥� Attorney General Pam Bondi said during an appearance on Fox News after the arrest.

History of ICE’s arrest practices

Lena Graber, senior staff attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, told The Associated Press that she鈥檚 aware of at least a dozen recent immigration arrests at courthouses around the country.

鈥淭he historical context is really important,” Graber said. 鈥淭his is something that was not part of ICE鈥檚 practice until the first Trump administration, and people were shocked.鈥�

ICE long had a general practice of not arresting people at certain locations, including schools, hospitals, courthouses and churches. But during the first Trump administration, the agency explicitly allowing courthouse arrests of 鈥渟pecific, targeted aliens,鈥� arguing that it was especially important in 鈥渟anctuary鈥� jurisdictions where officials do not notify the agency before releasing immigrants facing deportation cases.

Courthouse immigration arrests jumped, drawing condemnation from judicial officials and legal organizations, as well as lawsuits from some states and seeking to block the practice.

Dugan鈥檚 case is similar to one brought during the first Trump administration against a Massachusetts judge who was accused of helping a man sneak out a back door of a courthouse to evade a waiting immigration officer. A judge in Oregon faced similar allegations 鈥� though not an arrest or criminal charges — in 2017.

The chief justices of some states, including California and , asked ICE to stop, saying fear of arrest would keep crime victims and witnesses from showing up in court. In one well-publicized case, agents in Texas arrested a woman while she was obtaining a protection order against an alleged abuser.

The Biden administration on courthouse immigration arrests, but they were when Trump returned to office this year.

Under guidance ICE officials are allowed to carry out immigration enforcement in or near courthouses if they believe someone they鈥檙e trying to find will be there. Whenever possible, the agents are supposed to make arrests in nonpublic areas, to coordinate with courthouse security and to avoid disrupting court operations.

Virginia prosecutor promises to investigate court arrest

Teodoro Dominguez Rodriguez, identified by ICE as a Honduran national, was confronted and arrested by immigration enforcement officers after he left a Charlottesville courtroom April 22. It was the second immigration arrest at the court that day.

The first wasn鈥檛 recorded, but as word spread, Nick Reppucci, who heads the public defender鈥檚 office there, scrambled staff to the courthouse. They captured Dominguez Rodriguez鈥檚 arrest on camera.

The three agents, one in a balaclava-style ski mask, ignored demands from observers to show badges or a warrant, the video shows. One agent threatened to have the U.S. attorney鈥檚 office prosecute two women who tried to place themselves between the agents and Dominguez Rodriguez.

Sherriff Chan Bryant confirmed that the agents had shown badges and paperwork to a bailiff beforehand. But Albemarle County Commonwealth鈥檚 Attorney Jim Hingeley criticized the officers for failing to identify themselves while making the arrest.

鈥淏ystanders, or the person being arrested, might have violently resisted what on its face appeared to be an unlawful assault and abduction,鈥� Hingeley said in an emailed statement.

Reppucci decried the 鈥渘ormalization happening here, where federal law enforcement are at this point grabbing people without being required to show that person any form of identification.鈥�

In a written statement, ICE stood behind the actions of the officers, “who are trained to assess and prosecute apprehensions in a manner that best ensures operational success and public safety.鈥�

The Associated Press was unable to locate relatives who might speak on Dominguez Rodriguez鈥檚 behalf, and it was not clear if he had an attorney representing him.

Repucci stressed the impact arrests like Dominguez Rodriguez’s could have on people coming to court, a place he said is supposed to be where 鈥渄isputes are resolved in an orderly, peaceful manner.鈥�

鈥淧eople in divorce proceedings, people with civil disputes, custody hearings, potential witnesses, all are going to be less likely to come to court,鈥� he said.

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Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, and Rebecca Santana in Washington contributed to this report. Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kansas.