A dozen people pleaded not guilty on Thursday to trespassing charges stemming from a protest in Williston this summer against Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Protesters blocked access to an office complex that houses an ICE surveillance facility in July. The building has been at the center of protests over federal immigration enforcement and people have previously been arrested there. But it’s the first time those arrested have faced charges.
In previous cases, Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George declined to file charges and compared protesters’ conduct to civil disobedience actions taken during the Civil Right Movement. This time, however, Vermont State Police sent the cases to Attorney General Charity Clark, who decided to prosecute 13 people who were arrested during a sit-in on July 24.
Clark, a Democrat, has frequently touted her efforts to push back against the Trump administration and highlighted her office’s litigation against the feds. Clark’s office is involved in 70 lawsuits challenging Trump administration policies and decisions, according to the attorney general’s website.
Clark said in an interview on Thursday that her political views can’t influence charging decisions.
“I myself have literally protested at an ICE facility in Williston,” Clark said. “At the same time, I am a prosecutor bound by the Constitution, and I always have to do the constitutional thing, even if it's not politically popular.”
Clark declined to say if her office would refer the cases to diversion, an alternative to the traditional criminal justice process often used for lower-level charges and first-time offences.
All 13 people face a charge of unlawful trespass, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of three months in prison, a $500 fine or both. Twelve of them were arraigned in Burlington on Thursday morning, and the thirteenth person, who’s 18, had their case transferred to family court, where the proceedings are confidential.
The courtroom was packed on Thursday morning with supporters of the protesters. Each defendant was called up individually, and all twelve pleaded not guilty to the charges. They were all released on conditions, including that they don’t go back to the Williston office complex.
Sherri Wormser, one of the people charged on Thursday, said in an interview she joined the protests to draw attention to the “violence and criminality” of ICE.
“They're trying to disappear people, especially women, and it's abhorrent,” Wormser said. “I stand against any business or any politician who is making us into political ploys for them, while they refuse to actually prosecute and go after the criminals of ICE.”
According to affidavits filed by state police, the 13 protesters were blocking the doors to the ICE facility. Troopers issued dispersal orders, but the protesters refused to leave and chanted or spoke over the directions, the affidavit says.
Police then arrested those who remained and removed them from the building, and in at least one instance police carried a protester out, according to video released by activists.
Robert Appel, an attorney and former defender general who’s representing the protesters, told reporters after the arraignment he was upset by Clark’s decision.
“I'm seriously disappointed — she has acted like an ally in the past on these issues,” Appel said.
Clark’s decision has also drawn criticism from one of her fellow Democrats — State Treasurer Mike Pieciak.
Pieciak, in an interview, said Clark should drop the charges. The protesters were engaging in peaceful “First Amendment activity,” he said.
“When I think about the unlawful activity that I'm worried about, it's ICE and the Trump administration, and that's where I think our focus should be,” Pieciak said. “The attorney general made a different judgment call — but it's clearly a choice, it's not a requirement.”
Republican Gov. Phil Scott applauded Clark on Thursday for moving forward with the charges.
“I know it's not easy for the attorney general to make this decision to prosecute, and that doesn't mean that they're all going to be thrown in jail,” Scott said. “But they're going to be held accountable for violating the law.”
Law enforcement officials, including Commissioner of Public Safety Jennifer Morrison, have been frustrated by George's past decisions not to charge anti-ICE protesters. In George’s June declination letters, she invited Morrision to send future protest cases to Clark’s office. George declined to comment on Thursday.
Scott told reporters he didn’t ask Clark to take up these cases or direct Morrison to lobby the attorney general.
Clark also said no one in the governor’s administration had reached out to her directly about the cases.
