ICE Agent Arrested for Choking Woman in Cincinnati Must Stay Behind Bars: Judge

A 47-year-old ICE agent remains locked in the Hamilton County Justice Center without bond after prosecutors painted a chilling portrait of domestic terror in a Cincinnati courtroom Monday.

Samuel Saxon is accused of seizing a woman he lives with by the throat in a prolonged chokehold attack that left visible purple bruising ringing her neck and sent witnesses scrambling for help.

The alleged assault unfolded Friday evening in the dimly lit hallway of an apartment building on Eden Avenue, just blocks from the University of Cincinnati campus.

Court documents describe a scene of sudden, explosive violence: Saxon allegedly wrapped his arm around the victim’s neck, lifted her partially off the ground, and squeezed until she struggled to breathe. Multiple residents told responding Cincinnati police officers they watched the attack in horror as the woman gasped and clawed for release.

Officers who arrived minutes later found the victim shaken and in visible pain. Photographs entered into evidence show distinct, hand-shaped contusions and linear bruising consistent with strangulation.

Medical personnel evaluated her at the scene, and prosecutors later classified the injuries as “serious physical harm,” elevating the primary charge to second-degree felonious assault, a felony punishable by up to eight years in prison.

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22 Police Responses in 18 Months

Perhaps most alarming to Judge Samantha Silverstein was the revelation that Cincinnati police had been summoned to Saxon’s residence no fewer than 22 times since mid-2024. While the exact nature of those previous calls has not been publicly detailed, prosecutors argued the volume alone demonstrated an escalating and dangerous environment.

Defense counsel offered no counter-narrative during the bond portion of Monday’s hearing.

“This is not an isolated incident,” Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor Sarah Sullivan told the court. “The defendant has access to firearms through his federal employment, has demonstrated an ability and willingness to use significant physical force against an intimate partner, and resides at a location with an extraordinary history of police intervention.”

Judge Silverstein ultimately agreed with the state’s risk assessment. While she set a combined $50,000 bond on the misdemeanor domestic violence and felony strangulation counts, she denied bond entirely on the felonious assault charge, ensuring Saxon remains jailed at least until Thursday’s preliminary hearing.

Under Ohio law, felonious assault involving serious physical harm or the use of a deadly weapon (in this case, prosecutors successfully argued that hands used in strangulation can constitute a deadly weapon) carries a presumption of incarceration pending trial when public safety is at stake.

Samuel Saxon has been publicly identified by multiple local and national outlets as an active ICE agent assigned to the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division.

Sources familiar with the Cincinnati field office describe him as a mid-level deportation officer with several years of service. Neither ICE headquarters in Washington nor the Cincinnati field office has issued any statement confirming or denying his employment status, administrative leave placement, or whether his law-enforcement powers and government-issued firearm have been suspended.

On Tuesday, an ICE public affairs officer said only that the agency “does not comment on pending criminal matters involving employees” and referred all further questions to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio, which so far has not indicated federal charges are forthcoming.

Saxon’s attorney, veteran Cincinnati criminal defender Michael Trapp, declined to comment after Monday’s hearing, citing the early stage of the case and his client’s presumption of innocence. Trapp did confirm he plans to request a full bond review and possibly a gag order at Thursday’s hearing.

Prosecutors have placed the victim under an emergency temporary protection order that bars Saxon from any contact and prohibits him from returning to the shared residence. Advocates from Women Helping Women, a Greater Cincinnati domestic-violence resource center, have been in contact with the victim, though her identity is being withheld under Marsy’s Law protections.

Detectives continue to interview additional witnesses and are reviewing security-camera footage from the apartment complex. Sources close to the investigation say they are also examining whether any of the previous 22 police calls involved allegations of physical violence or threats, which could lead to additional charges or be used as aggravating evidence at sentencing.

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The case arrives at a particularly sensitive moment for federal law enforcement. Domestic-violence incidents involving on-duty or off-duty officers have drawn intensified scrutiny nationwide, with multiple high-profile cases in recent years resulting in policy changes regarding firearm surrender and mandatory psychological evaluation.

ICE, in particular, has dramatically expanded its workforce and enforcement footprint during the second Trump administration, adding thousands of new deportation officers and support personnel. Critics have questioned whether rapid hiring and increased operational tempo have strained vetting and wellness programs.

Thursday’s preliminary hearing, scheduled for 9:00 a.m. in courtroom 5 of the Hamilton County Municipal Court, will determine whether prosecutors have established probable cause to send the felony charges to a grand jury. If indicted, Saxon could face arraignment in the Court of Common Pleas as early as next week.

For now, a federal agent trained in the use of force sits in the same county jail he once helped fill with immigration detainees, barred from release and facing the prospect of years behind bars if convicted.