On the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 30, as students entered the school during morning drop-off, officers from the U.S. Marshals Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement Removal Operations division (ERO) and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) arrested two people five blocks away from the school.
An MPD spokesperson told the Bit that the federal agents and MPD served two arrest warrants at about 8:19 a.m. on the 5200 block of 43rd Street NW. Officers arrested 31-year-old Michael Delonte Howard for first-degree assault and 23-year-old Marilyn Carbajal for larceny. Neither charges appear to be immigration-related. Officers arrested both people at the same address. Afterward, witnesses on Chesapeake Street saw those same officers gather at the Steak ’n Egg Diner parking lot, which is located one block away from GDS at Wisconsin Avenue and Chesapeake Street.
The MPD spokesperson did not know why the agents and police gathered at the Steak ’n Egg Diner parking lot, but the spokesperson presumed it could have been a meeting point after the arrest on 43rd Street. The spokesperson also said no MPD-involved arrest took place in the Steak ’n Egg parking lot. “We have no reports or calls for service on September 30th, 2025, in the 4700 block of Wisconsin Ave, NW, between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.,” the spokesperson wrote to the Bit in a follow-up email.
A manager at Steak ’n Egg told the Bit that no police officers or federal agents had entered the diner that morning.
According to the MPD spokesperson, MPD’s criminal apprehension unit made the arrests in collaboration with federal partners. The U.S. Marshals led the operation under their Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force (CARFTF).
The Presidential Threat Protection Act of 2000 established U.S. Fugitive Task Forces to apprehend violent offenders in collaboration with local law enforcement agencies. MPD has been a member of the CARFTF since the task force’s inception in 2004.
Alison Cromer, a GDS parent, saw the agents gathered outside Steak ’n Egg. “I look over and see this guy in handcuffs and figured it was probably ICE, only because they were all unmarked cars,” Cromer said. “So I just started taking pictures with the hopes that if I did post them whoever this guy’s loved ones are would hopefully be able to see it and know what happened.”
The MPD spokesperson said that historically ICE has been rarely involved in CARTF operations, but the spokesperson said that the Marshals could have invited the immigration agency to join this operation. The spokesperson could not confirm that ICE was present and deferred questions about ICE’s involvement to the U.S. Marshals Service. A delivery driver’s picture of the federal agents, which the Bit reviewed, appears to show a federal agent with ERO markings.
The U.S. Marshals’ Public Affairs office did not respond to a request for comment.
According to a June 21, 2024 ICE website post, ERO supported the Marshal’s Washington task force during an operation, which targeted cross-jurisdictional violence in the D.C. area from April to September, called Nazare Wave.
Both a food delivery driver and a member of the Brazilian Army Commission also told the Bit they saw the agents and police gathered behind Steak ’n Egg. The Brazilian Commission owns two buildings on Wisconsin Avenue near Chesapeake Street.
The Prince George’s County Police Department issued the first-degree assault warrant for Howard’s arrest. The D.C. Superior Court issued a bench warrant for larceny for Carbajal’s arrest. Courts issue bench warrants when defendants fail to appear in court, violate a court order or are in contempt of court. According to public D.C. Superior Court records, the court issued a bench warrant for Carbajal on March 3, 2025, for failing to appear in court.
According to photos of the unmarked vehicles, the Chevy Impala had D.C. government plates, and the MPD spokesperson said the Bit’s description of the vehicle matched that of an unmarked MPD vehicle. “MPD members assigned to CARTF are permitted to use unmarked police vehicles,” the MPD spokesperson wrote to the Bit in a follow-up email.
On Sept. 29, eight days before the incident, GDS Director of Security Shelley Harris spoke at the high school’s weekly Monday Meeting, informing students of their rights and responsibilities when interacting with federal officers.
“Students’ rights to me are the same as adults’ rights,” Harris told the Bit. “You have rights, even though we’ve been seeing different things. You have the right to remain silent. You do not have to answer any questions.”
“I think what a lot of people are not aware of is that they [law enforcement officials] are supposed to be operating under official documents, a judicial warrant or an administrative form,” Harris said.
“I would probably take similar precautions,” senior Nico Abbate said, referring to Harris’ advice. “On top of that, I would reach out to students who would be especially in danger, like minorities or people without a green card, and ensure their safety. That event at Steak ’n Egg is really surprising.”
“That’s crazy,” Sophomore Raech McKnight said about ICE’s presence in the school area. “I don’t necessarily think it’ll impact the students as much as the adults or working staff here.”
Sam Gross contributed reporting.