Nine faith leaders were arrested during a protest outside U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’ Portland office Jan. 27. Among them was a methodist minister from Newcastle with a Boothbay Region connection. 

A multidenominational group of faith leaders gathered for a "pray-in" in protest of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) recent controversial actions. In a press release, organizers urged Collins to vote against any DHS funding bill or continuing resolution that maintains funding for ICE, and they called for her to demand ICE end its current operations in Maine and elsewhere in the U.S. 

“We think that we have a moral duty to make our voice heard and that (Collins) has a professional duty to hear her constituents. And we understand the consequences if we remain, but we are going to remain,” Eric Nathanson, spokesman for the protesters, told the Register about what was going through his mind during the protest. 

Among the protesters was Doratha "Dottie" Yunger, a United Methodist Church minister from Newcastle who supports congregations in the Lincoln County area, according to Nathanson. Yunger is also the director ofMaine State Aquarium in Boothbay Harbor. Yunger was not acting in a Department of Marine Resources (DMR) capacity and was on a day off work, according to DMR and Nathanson. The Register has reached out to Yunger for comment. 

According to a Portland Police Department statement, Portland police responded to Collins’ office at 1:03 p.m. for a report of about 50 protestors. Police said the group was repeatedly told to disperse or people would be charged with criminal trespass. Police said some dispersed, but nine remaining people were arrested, charged with criminal trespass, and transported to Cumberland County Jail. Nathanson said they were released after about four hours.  

Nathanson said the protest, including arrests, went peacefully, and much of the time was spent praying and singing. He said the protest lasted around an hour and a half until police asked them to disperse with a warning.

“We were adamant that we weren't going to leave and that we felt that it was a moral imperative to stand by this action,” he said.

Jan. 29, Collins announced that enhanced ICE Operations in Maine have ended after communications with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. According to the release, ICE will continue normal operations that have been ongoing for many years. The protest was not mentioned.