Author: Jon Fetherston

PORTLAND, Maine — Community activists are urging Cumberland County Commissioners to terminate the jail’s contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but Sheriff Kevin Joyce told the board Monday that he is bound to follow the law and cannot selectively enforce it. At the commissioners’ workshop, immigration advocates and progressive groups argued that the county jail should stop housing ICE detainees, despite an agreement that provides the county with nearly $2 million annually. As of Monday, the jail held 63 detainees under the contract, which pays $150 per person per day. Joyce pushed back on claims that the county could…

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — A lockdown at Southern Maine Community College was lifted Tuesday morning after police persuaded an armed man to surrender on campus, authorities said. South Portland police said officers were alerted shortly after 9 a.m. to a 51-year-old Westbrook man near the Spring Point Lighthouse who was threatening to kill himself with a handgun. The man then entered the SMCC campus with a loaded firearm and told authorities he intended to take his own life. The college went into lockdown around 9:15 a.m. as officers responded. A police negotiator reached the man by phone and, after a…

The Department of Homeland Security last week sharply rejected allegations from Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, that immigration officials were blocking detainees from meeting with attorneys, calling the claims false and politically motivated. “Congresswoman Pingree is lying for likes and fundraising dollars,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “Any allegation that ICE is blocking illegal aliens from having legal counsel at immigration appointments is FALSE. These types of smears are contributing to our officers facing a 1000% increase in assaults against them.” McLaughlin added that “DHS responds to official correspondence through official channels.” Pingree’s office last week accused U.S.…

Bailey Island, Maine — Authorities are looking into threats made against the owners of a Bailey Island restaurant after one of them was identified as the driver of a car bearing a bumper sticker that read “MAKE ASSASSINATIONS GREAT AGAIN.” The car reportedly belongs to Susanna “Ray” DeSilva, 32, a Topsham resident and LGBTQ activist who co-owns the Fishnet Café on Bailey Island with spouse Ashley DeSilva, who was born female and now goes by Ray, confirmed ownership of the vehicle when asked Sunday by The Maine Wire. DeSilva said police had advised not to comment publicly, describing the backlash…