Charges dropped against faith leaders arrested at Susan Collins’ Portland office

 Christine Dyke, lead minister from First Parish Congregational Church of Gorham, sings while waiting to be arrested at the Portland office of Sen. Susan Collins in January. Faith leaders had gathered to urge Collins to reject a Department of Homeland Security funding bill. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer) Prosecutors have dismissed criminal trespassing charges against nine people who police arrested at Sen. Susan Collins’ Portland office in January. The defendants were part of a larger group of about 25 protesters, including religious leaders, who marched to Collins’ office [on Jan. 27](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/01/27/pray-in-protest-at-susan-collins-portland-office-ends-in-9-arrests/) and stayed there, despite staff and police telling them to leave. The group said it was protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the state during the Department of Homeland Security operation that resulted in 200 arrests in Maine. Related [Susan Collins says ICE operations in Maine, Minnesota should be paused](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/01/27/pray-in-protest-at-susan-collins-portland-office-ends-in-9-arrests/) “And (Collins’) response was to arrest us, to call the police and have us put into county jail,” said the Rev. Will Green, from New Brackett Church on Peaks Island. Portland police Maj. Jason King said in January that officers arrested the protesters two hours after the larger group was warned. King said the remaining protesters “asked to be arrested.” Collins [announced that the DHS operation](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/01/27/pray-in-protest-at-susan-collins-portland-office-ends-in-9-arrests/) had ended that morning. Protesters said her announcement came hours after their arrest. Advertisement “We were told in January that the surge supposedly ended,” said Rob Levin, a member of the Portland Friends Meeting, a Quaker group. “Since then, we have seen a [local pastor](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/04/23/southern-maine-pastor-detained-by-ice-leaving-a-hole-in-his-church-community/) taken right off the street. … We’ve seen leaders being taken.” Collins was in Washington, D.C., on that day in January. The protesters said she had not responded to multiple calls and emails from them regarding their concerns about ICE. Seven of the nine defendants said Wednesday that while they were happy to have their cases resolved, they continued to oppose Collins’ support of ICE. That includes her vote Friday to spend [$70 billion on ICE and Border Patrol](https://apnews.com/article/trump-settlement-fund-ice-border-patrol-vote-93b9f5b487997b629d87bf59a046d7ec) activity over the next three years. In a statement Wednesday, Collins — who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee —said that legislation includes measures that will “protect both law enforcement officers and the people with whom they engage,” including an expanded use of body-worn cameras, funding for deescalation training, and increased oversight of detention facilities. She said the bill will also pay for Homeland Security Investigations operations that address human trafficking and Border Patrol agents who “prevent dangerous and illegal weapons, drugs, and other contraband from entering our country.” Cumberland County prosecutors have recently dismissed other charges related to civil disobedience, as protests in Portland appear to be on the rise. A city spokesperson [said in April](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/04/03/no-kings-protester-acquitted-after-portland-police-accused-him-of-assault-by-airhorn/) that staff had approved 99 requests for demonstrations in 2025, compared to just 38 in 2024. Advertisement In April, a prosecutor [dismissed charges](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/04/10/prosecutors-drop-charges-against-protesters-accused-of-blocking-portland-traffic/) against 10 protesters who remained in a public road despite police orders. Those defendants had been protesting U.S. involvement in the war in Gaza. Related [Prosecutors drop charges against protesters accused of blocking Portland traffic](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/04/10/prosecutors-drop-charges-against-protesters-accused-of-blocking-portland-traffic/) Tina Nadeau, who represented all nine of the defendants arrested at Collins’ office, said Wednesday she was disappointed that her clients were charged at all. Her clients have been subjected to bail conditions since their arrests. She said the charges tamp down dissent. “They never should have been brought at all,” Nadeau said. “These are good people trying to engage with their duly elected senator.” Cumberland County District Attorney Jacqueline Sartoris was not immediately available Wednesday to comment on the dismissals. Copy the Story Link Tagged: [cumberland county district attorney](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/cumberland-county-district-attorney/), [ICE](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/ice/), [immigration](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/immigration/), [Sen. Susan Collins](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/sen-susan-collins/) [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/emily-allen) [Emily AllenStaff Writer](https://www.pressherald.com/author/emily-allen) Emily Allen covers courts for the Portland Press Herald. It's her favorite beat so far — before moving to Maine in 2022, she reported on a wide range of topics for public radio in West Virginia and was. [More by Emily Allen](https://www.pressherald.com/author/emily-allen)