Armed Protesters Camp Outside Maine ICE Facility, Call It a Civil War
Armed protesters with AR-15s and ‘Abolish ICE’ banners are camped outside a Maine ICE facility, claiming it’s a civil war.
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Armed protesters have been camping outside an ICE facility in Scarborough, Maine, openly carrying weapons and calling the situation a ‘civil war.’ The group, which has been monitoring ICE agent movements for months, has escalated tensions following the fatal shooting of a Colombian national by an ICE agent in July.
Video and photos from the scene show individuals in tactical gear marked ‘NOT A COP’ standing with long guns and ‘Abolish ICE’ banners near the building.
Amid unverified reports of an increased ICE presence in Scarborough, several protesters have posted up outside the ICE facility with ARs.
A protester who goes by K, who asked not to be fully identified out of fear for her safety, has been openly carrying a camo AR-15 outside the facility for weeks. She said she was intimidated by agents in a nearby parking lot and has been carrying a concealed firearm while keeping a daily watch for months. Her belt has a hatchet, additional magazines, a medical kit, and a raccoon tail.
“If they want to start a fire fight, I will return fire,” she said, her hands resting on the handle of her weapon. “This is a civil war.”
Two other protesters have also started open carrying, she said, and both stood near two black pickup trucks parked just off the road in front of the ICE facility on a recent Tuesday morning. One demonstrator armed with a rifle wore a camo tactical vest and a matching buff covering their face. The other, also wearing a face covering and camo base layers, crossed their arms over their gun.
“Maybe one day, 100 people can show up with AR-15s,” K said. In her ideal world, there would be thousands of people mobilizing to the facility to physically force ICE out, she said.
The latest escalation follows months of protests that began after an ICE agent fatally shot Colombian national Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in nearby Biddeford in July. The small group of activists has maintained a roadside watch since then, monitoring agent movements, photographing vehicles and personnel, and calling for prosecutions and the agency’s removal from the state, with some now openly carrying rifles.
The Maine Wire interviewed several of the armed protesters on site, who confirmed they are there seven days a week for at least 12 hours a day.
Here’s our interview with the armed anti-ICE protesters in Scarborough:
Open carry is legal in Maine for those permitted to possess firearms. A spokesperson for ICE told WMTW that the agency’s officers are “under constant threat from violent agitators.”
Source: The Gateway Pundit
