As immigration enforcement activity across Maine surges, local and state leaders are urging people who are planning to protest federal agents’ actions — or to counterprotest — do so peacefully.

Demonstrations so far have unfolded without controversy, several protest organizers said. But many say they are growing concerned as federal agents in Minneapolis and elsewhere continue to employ aggressive crowd-control tactics after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot a woman in her car.

More protests are being planned throughout Maine almost daily. After people began reporting increased sightings of ICE agents Tuesday, almost two dozen people gathered outside Portland City Hall that night.

Some attendees said they have become regulars at other protests, including those against ICE at Monument Square.

“I worry that eventually we’re not going to have time to act on this,” said an organizer who asked not to be identified because of safety concerns. “So I think doing something today, and doing something now, is going to be crucially important before it gets violent.”

Maine law enforcement agencies, including state police, have declined to share what they are doing to prepare for these events. Prosecutors and local police leaders say their roles are to support everyone exercising their First Amendment rights and to ensure public safety.

One conservative social media account has been calling for people to sign up for a group called the Pine Guard, to attend and disrupt “far-left socialist” protesters. The Press Herald reached out to that account to confirm whether the group was active but did not receive a response.

In the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, protests have been held daily since the Department of Homeland Security ramped up immigration enforcement there. After an ICE agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good on Jan. 7, anti-ICE protests and pro-ICE counterprotests have been intensifying and in some cases confronting each other.

Earlier this week, the Pentagon ordered about 1,500 active-duty soldiers to be ready in case of a possible deployment to Minnesota. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has urged protesters to remain peaceful so President Donald Trump won’t see a need to send troops.

Brendan McQuade, a University of Southern Maine associate professor and one of the founding members of the No ICE for ME campaign, said Tuesday that his observations of ICE protests in other states show how the Trump administration is “trying to criminalize dissent.”

“Of course I’m worried. I think you’d be in denial not to be worried,” McQuade said, though he was hesitant to predict how federal tactics will translate to Maine.

POTENTIAL PROSECUTION

U.S. Attorney for Maine Andrew Benson issued a statement Monday night that touched on the political divisions. All federal officers have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution, he said, “including the laws relating to illegal immigration.”

“Divisive, bombastic public statements only inflame the situation and make violence more likely,” Benson said. “Force, intimidation and threats have no place in our public discourse and are contrary to our time-honored tradition in Maine of peaceful civic engagement.”

His comments followed remarks from Cumberland County District Attorney Jacqueline Sartoris last week in which she said her office will prosecute anyone who violates the law — including federal officers — if it has the evidence.

“The rules apply to everybody,” Sartoris said. “If a protester breaks the glass of an ICE vehicle, right? That’s not cool, that’s also illegal. And if an ICE agent breaks a window in order to drag somebody out of their car, we’d be reviewing that as well for potentially illegal conduct.”

Neil McLean, the district attorney for Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin counties, said on Tuesday that it was too soon to talk about potential prosecution.

“I do not believe it is helpful, or wise, to speculate on who we may, or may not prosecute. … Such comments inevitably stoke the flames of unrest,” McLean said in an emailed statement. “We must remain neutral, objective and work together to bring down the temperature, not elevate the fear.”

ORGANIZING PROTESTS

Various protest organizers said Tuesday that anti-ICE protests and demonstrations in Maine have unfolded peacefully compared to other states.

Some past protests in Maine have boiled over, prompting police to use force or make arrests.

In Portland, one of several racial justice protests in 2020 turned violent overnight, and officers deployed pepper spray and arrested 23 people.

Portland police also arrested dozens of protesters at pro-Palestine demonstrations in 2024 and 2025, as well as two people during “No Kings” protests over the summer.

Penny Gruen, chair of the Democrats of the Kennebunks and Arundel, has helped to organize a weekly protest for nearly a year. While the number of protesters has grown, Gruen said the event remains calm.

“My guess is people will continue to be respectful and not interact with any agitators,” Gruen said. “If it turned out to look like Minnesota, who knows, but at this point, it’s been a really positive experience. … It’s just become a form of personal expression for a lot of people.”

Over the weekend in Minnesota, a conservative influencer’s attempt to hold a rally in support of ICE was drowned out by counterprotesters.

Jake Lang, a pardoned Jan. 6 rioter who announced last year that he was running for Senate in Florida, organized an anti-Somali demonstration near Minneapolis City Hall. But his group was outnumbered and chased out by anti-ICE protesters.

Molly Curren Rowles, executive director of the ACLU of Maine, said in a phone interview on Friday that it’s important to remember that counterprotesters also have a right to speak.

While police are allowed to physically separate two opposing groups, Curren Rowles said they are not supposed to move the parties so far away that they can’t be heard by each other.

“Police are required to treat everyone in that situation, protesters and counterprotesters, equally,” she said.

Pat Fogg, who is a part of a group that protests twice a week in Lewiston and Auburn, said Tuesday that while they’re scared of what’s to come, police have been supportive.

“They’ve told us they are not supporting ICE. They are doing their job, and they are protecting the people,” Fogg said.

McLean, the district attorney, said prosecutors will continue to support local police, who are committed to protecting all protesters’ rights to assemble peacefully.

“It’s so important for people to understand that when it feels scary, it means the most that people are standing up,” Curren Rowles said.

PREPARATIONS AND RIGHTS

Gov. Janet Mills said in a video statement last week that she had directed the Maine State Police to work with local law enforcement ahead of and during any potential surge of immigration enforcement statewide.

What that coordination looks like, however, is unclear. A spokesperson for the governor’s office directed questions about Mills’ directive to the Maine State Police, which declined to provide further information.

Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce said in an interview last week that his agency is prepared to respond to any protests and counterprotests and to make sure people are “able to exercise their First Amendment right in a safe and secure manner.”

But he said the sheriff’s office hadn’t made any strict operational decisions yet, because “we’re not really sure what’s going to happen.”

Lewiston police Lt. Derrick St. Laurent said in a statement that the agency is prepared for a wave of immigration agents, and that officials “have been working closely” with Maine State Police and other agencies.

During anti-ICE protests in Portland Saturday and Tuesday, reporters did not see police officers present. One pro-ICE counterprotester showed up at a rally Sunday but didn’t appear to cause a disruption.

Brad Nadeau, a spokesperson for Portland police, said in a statement Tuesday that the department is “committed to the safety, security and civil rights of everyone in our community.”

Both the Lewiston and Portland police departments declined to elaborate on their operational plans.

Staff Writer Riley Board contributed to this story, which also contains material from The Associated Press.