BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Five people now face federal charges following a protest at a Department of Homeland Security facility back in February. It comes after the Vermont attorney general last week also pressed charges.
Peter Booth, 58, of Jericho; Lexington Kennedy, 22, of New York; Henry Prensky, 80, of Burlington; Roan Wade, 23, of New York; and Sherri Wormser, 57, of Colchester, are among a dozen people arrested on Feb. 9.
Authorities say they blocked doors to the building with their bodies and ignored demands from police to disperse, posing a safety risk to people inside. Several of them allegedly went back multiple times throughout the following months and did the same thing.
They are now charged in federal court with knowingly obstructing access to the federally leased building.
They face state charges as well, after Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark stepped in last week to prosecute the case. The Vermont State Police brought the cases directly to the AG after Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George declined to prosecute similar arrests.
One protester, Roan Wade, told WCAX last week they were protesting ICE enforcement actions and demanding property managers end their lease with ICE at the White Cap Industrial Park. “We viewed what we did as a form of harm reduction. What happens at that facility enables the violence we’re seeing at the national level,” Wade said, adding that they will keep protesting until the facility is shut down.
All 12 people charged with misdemeanor unlawful trespass in Vermont Superior Court last week pleaded not guilty.
If convicted on the federal charges, the five protesters could face up to a month in jail and a $5,000 fine. Their initial court dates are not yet on the calendar.
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