Idaho authorities say an attempted arsonist targeted a building housing offices for the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday night. Meridian Police Chief Tracy Basterrechea described the attack during a Thursday press conference. He said someone stole an ambulance and covered it in an accelerant. The attempted arsonist then rammed it into a building that houses leased offices for Homeland Security, but was scared off before being able to ignite the fuel. “We want to emphasize that this was a serious criminal act. The theft and destruction of an emergency vehicle not only created risk to responding personnel, but it also temporarily removed a critical medical resource from the community,” Basterrechea emphasized. The police chief said that the suspect is still at large. During the press conference, he suggested that controversy and radical rhetoric regarding the Department of Homeland Security may have played into the attack. “There has been a lot of rhetoric surrounding the Department of Homeland Security leasing office space at this location, and comments on social media such as, ‘property damage isn’t violence,’ is absolutely false,” said Basterrechea. “This was absolutely an act of violence, and if the suspect had not been interrupted, there is no doubt this building would have been burned, putting the lives of first responders and others at risk,” he continued. The attempted arsonist stole the ambulance from St. Luke’s hospital and crashed it into a building owned by St. Luke’s Health System in Meridian. St. Luke’s Health System had rented space in the damaged building to the Department of Homeland Security, and the lease has been at the center of some heated public debate, according to the Associated Press. The attack comes at a time when federal immigration enforcement is facing a steep rise in threats and attacks as agents attempt to carry out President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda and enforce federal law. Earlier this month, a DHS spokeswoman presented several data points showing the rapid jump in violence. “Thanks to rhetoric by sanctuary politicians and encouragement of illegal aliens to evade arrest, our officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them, a 3,200% increase in vehicular attacks, and an 8,000% increase in death threats against them. Secretary Noem has been clear: anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” she said. Democratic politicians have repeatedly attacked federal immigration agents, especially those with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some have compared ICE agents to Nazi secret police.