Following recent protests near a local U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in South Portland, six individuals faced their initial court sessions, each charged with offenses including assaulting federal officers and other misdemeanors, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon.
Charged with assaulting federal officers and failing to obey lawful orders or directions, the defendants—Samuel Tate Berry, Juniper Perry Weed, Eduardo Diaz Guardado, Andrew James Beason, Nokomis Lee, and Liam Harry Houpis—allegedly took part in actions that obstructed law enforcement during demonstrations, where objects like rocks and mortar fireworks were used against the building and officers and on the night of June 18, officers when advancing on the crowd to clear a blockade were met with resistance and resulting altercations ensued between the protesters and law enforcement.
At the heart of these confrontations, court documents as detailed by the U.S. Attorney's Office show that Berry and Weed were allegedly involved in scuffles with officers at around 6:38pm on June 18 while Beason and Lee were accused of failing to comply with orders in a subsequent incident the same evening; furthermore, Guardado reportedly wielded a laser pointer that momentarily blinded an officer, and Houpis was caught using hardware to potentially hinder officers from exiting the ICE office the following day.
All defendants were granted conditional release pending future court dates—charges that carry penalties ranging from 30 days to a year in prison depending on the severity of each misdemeanor, such as assault of a federal officer and creating a hazard on federal property, however, it's important to remember that criminal informations and complaints are merely accusations, and all individuals are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
The investigation into the events leading up to these charges is ongoing, spearheaded by the FBI and the Federal Protective Service, with prosecution currently underway by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon.
