A Brunswick man was charged Thursday night after an anti-ICE protest at a Portland hotel.
Peach Cushing, 28, was charged with disorderly conduct, according to Brad Nadeau, a spokesperson for the Portland Police Department.
It’s at least the second charge stemming from protests against the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the state during Operation Catch of the Day.
On Wednesday morning, Mary Conmee, 63, of Orrington was charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing government administration when she mistook Brewer police for ICE agents.
While officers were gathered outside a Brewer home to make contact with a person of interest in a school “swatting” case, she allegedly interfered with police, sounding an air horn, swearing at officers and refusing orders to leave.
She reportedly told Brewer police that she “didn’t want ICE” in her neighborhood.
A crowd of more than 50 people had gathered at the Residence Inn on Fore Street in Portland about 10:07 p.m. Thursday. They were blowing whistles and banging drums inside the lobby, Nadeau said Friday.
Social media posts indicate that protesters sought to disturb ICE agents believed to be staying there.
Police told the crowd several times to disperse or face charges. Cushing, who was issued a summons instead of being arrested, was the only one charged from that protest.
ICE agents have been highly visible in Lewiston and Greater Portland this week as the Trump administration seeks to arrest at least 1,400 immigrants. While the administration has claimed to be going after the “worst of the worst,” there have been numerous instances of immigrations without criminal records and with lawful permission to be in the country getting caught up in the sweeps, including an 18-year-old University of Southern Maine student, a civil engineer working for a Portland firm and a Cumberland County corrections officer recruit.
That’s sparked criticism from public officials such as Gov. Janet Mills, who during a Thursday press conference called the arrest quota “pretty broad” and questioned whether the agency would find that many criminal fugitives here. She also used the press conference to raise concerns about ICE’s tactics and lack of transparency.
“You know in America, we don’t believe in secret arrests or secret police … It’s one of the foundations of our country and our Constitution,” Mills said.
So far, ICE agents have arrested at least 100 people. In response to Thursday’s criticism from Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce over their arrest of one of his recruits, ICE agents removed all detainees held at the jail in Portland.
