Federal prosecutors have charged five people for blocking doors on multiple occasions at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement surveillance facility in Williston.
The U.S Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced on Wednesday it’s charging the individuals with obstructing access to a federal facility, which carries a sentence of up to 30 days in prison or a $5,000 fine.
Summonses have been issued for the defendants, whose ages range from 22 to 80, to appear in court, but those initial appearances have not been scheduled, federal prosecutors said in a press release.
The feds’ decision marks an escalation in the response to the protests at the Williston ICE office, which has been a focus of anti-ICE activism in Vermont since President Donald Trump began his second term.
Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George, a Democrat, had previously declined to file state charges against protesters arrested during these sit-ins and compared their conduct to civil disobedience actions taken during the Civil Right Movement.
Last week, fellow Democrat Attorney General Charity Clark charged a group of protesters with unlawful trespass after they were arrested there this summer. Those protesters pleaded not guilty.
According to federal prosecutors, the five people blocked access to the ICE office on more than one occasion. All five were arrested on Feb. 9 after refusing to leave the building, despite repeated warnings from police. Two were arrested again on May 14, and the other three were arrested again on July 24.
Three of the people charged by the feds also face state charges from the attorney general’s office.
Federal prosecutors said in their press release that the defendants hadn’t yet retained or appointed counsel. The federal public defender’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Attorney Robert Appel, who’s representing 12 of the protesters facing state charges, said he hasn't taken on these new cases and is still learning more about the federal charges. But he said in an interview on Thursday that the feds are trying to send a message.
“This is an effort to intimidate folks,” Appel said. “That’s the bottom line. This is all intended to scare.”
