© 2026 WFAE

Mailing Address:
WFAE 90.7
P.O. Box 896890
Charlotte, NC 28289-6890
Tax ID: 56-1803808
90.7 Charlotte 93.7 Southern Pines 90.3 Hickory 106.1 Laurinburg
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Kings Mountain mayor responds to ICE raid at local business

The raid occurred on June 25 at Buckeye Fire Equipment in Kings Mountain.
ICE
/
Courtesy
The raid occurred on June 25 at Buckeye Fire Equipment in Kings Mountain.

Kings Mountain Mayor Robert Wagman says he supports last week’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation at a local business, but only under certain conditions.

“If it’s based on identity theft and if there was a ring that was broken up, that needs to happen,” Wagman said to WFAE. “But if it’s a time where you’re just singularly focusing on a certain group of people, that I’m not sure I’d be all about it,” Wagman said.

The ICE raid took place at Buckeye Fire Equipment Company, where 30 people were arrested for alleged identity fraud. The operation was conducted in partnership with various agencies, including the FBI, the Kings Mountain Police Department and the Gaston County Sheriff’s Department.

ICE has not publicly named the individuals arrested or released further details about the investigation.


SUPPORT LOCAL NEWS

WFAE remains committed to our mission: to serve our community with fact-based, nonpartisan journalism. But our ability to do that depends on the strength of the financial response from the communities we serve. Please support our journalism by contributing today.


Julian Berger is a Race & Equity Reporter at WFAE, Charlotte’s NPR affiliate. His reporting focuses on Charlotte's Latino community and immigration policy. He is an award-winning journalist who received the 2025 RTDNAC Award for an economic story examining how fears of immigration enforcement affected Latino-owned businesses in Charlotte.