Armed Protester Outside Maine ICE Facility: ‘This Is A Civil War’

Jimmy ParkerNovember 12, 20260

Armed protesters have established a near-daily presence outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Scarborough, Maine, with long guns, tactical clothing and “Abolish ICE” banners. At least one demonstrator told the Portland Press Herald, “If they want to start a firefight, I will return fire.” The demonstrations began months ago, but the open carrying marks a clear escalation in the protest over ICE’s presence in Maine. No exchange of gunfire is described. The facility is dealing with a sustained armed protest, and the agency has increased security after six vandalism incidents in three months.

Reports of an increased ICE presence in Scarborough remain unverified, even as several protesters have posted outside with ARs. Video and photos show people in tactical gear and fatigues marked “NOT A COP,” standing near the building with long guns. The images do not establish criminal conduct or identify who was responsible for the vandalism. Open carry is legal in Maine for people permitted to possess firearms, but that narrow legal fact does not settle the safety concern. The combination of face coverings, firearms and return-fire rhetoric raises an obvious public-safety concern.

View photos of other protesters patrolling outside the facility with rifles.

Armed protesters in Maine turn a roadside watch into a standoff

One protester, identified only as K, told the Portland Press Herald that she has openly carried a camo AR-15 outside the facility for weeks. She asked not to be fully identified because she feared for her safety, and said she began open carrying after hearing another protester say agents had intimidated them in a nearby parking lot. K is described as a longtime gun owner who had carried a concealed firearm while keeping a daily watch for months. Her belt includes a hatchet, additional magazines, a medical kit and a raccoon tail. She said, “This is a civil war.”

K said two other protesters had also started open carrying, and the newspaper described two people near black pickup trucks outside the facility. One wore a camo tactical vest and face covering while holding a rifle; the other wore camo layers and crossed their arms over a gun. K said, “Maybe one day, 100 people can show up with AR-15s,” and described an ideal world where thousands mobilize to physically force ICE out. The Maine Wire interviewed several armed protesters who said they maintain the presence seven days a week for at least 12 hours a day.

JON: “So you guys are out here seven days a week?”
PROTESTER: “Of course. 12 hours a day at least”

— The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) November 10, 2026

Months of protest followed a fatal Biddeford shooting

The protests began after an ICE agent fatally shot Colombian national Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in nearby Biddeford in July. The circumstances of that shooting are not provided, but activists have tied their demands to it, including calls for prosecutions and ICE’s removal from Maine. Since then, the group has maintained a roadside watch, monitoring agent movements and photographing vehicles and personnel. That makes the Scarborough presence more than a one-day protest. It is a sustained campaign aimed at pressuring the agency to leave the state.

ICE told WMTW that its officers are “under constant threat from violent agitators.” That is the agency’s description, not an independent finding about every protester outside the building. Officials must protect personnel and property without treating every ICE critic as violent, while protesters must understand that talk of a firefight carries consequences. The six vandalism incidents justify concern, but they do not establish that the armed demonstrators committed those acts. Conduct should be judged individually, without blanket assumptions.

Chellie Pingree responded to reports of increased ICE presence by saying, “This cruel, chaotic, and out-of-control agency needs to be abolished. And we need ICE out of Maine. Period.” Her statement aligns with the protesters’ demand but does not address the rifles, face coverings or reported vandalism. The reporting does not show Pingree endorsing armed demonstrations or offering a plan for the roadside presence. Nor does it establish whether more protesters will begin carrying rifles or whether the current armed presence will recede. For now, Scarborough is where political anger, public authority and firearms collide in plain view.

Here's our interview with the armed anti-ICE protesters in Scarborough:

JON: "So you guys are out here seven days a week?"

PROTESTER: "Of course. 12 hours a day at least" pic.twitter.com/1AXcfBPcGB

— The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) November 10, 2026