Feds Charged Activists Just Before Major Anti-ICE Protest in a Tiny Vermont Town
Authorities are taking unprecedented steps to charge protesters in a sleepy Vermont town that hosts an ICE intelligence and targeting center The post Feds Charged Activists Just Before Major Anti-ICE Protest in a Tiny Vermont Town appeared first on The Intercept .
Williston, a quaint Vermont town, is renowned for its picturesque charm and historical architecture. However, like the rest of Vermont, the community is predominantly white, accounting for about 90% of its population. The town has experienced minimal immigration-related operations, aside from occasional raids targeting migrant farm laborers.
Despite this, the town has witnessed significant anti-ICE protests, with hundreds converging to oppose U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The catalyst for these demonstrations was the establishment of ICE's National Criminal Analysis and Targeting Center (NCATC) in Williston, a state-of-the-art facility designed to identify, track, and apprehend deportation targets nationwide.
Alongside other Department of Homeland Security installations in the region, the NCATC transformed Williston into a focal point for anti-immigration enforcement. Initially, protesters faced minimal repercussions, as local prosecutor Julie Macuga consistently declined to prosecute individuals arrested at the facility. However, this changed in late September when Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark initiated misdemeanor charges against 13 protesters for participating in a sit-in at the NCATC.
Subsequently, federal prosecutors added charges against five individuals, alleging they disrupted NCATC operations on multiple occasions. Activists in Vermont have noticed the timing of these charges, suspecting they may be intended to intimidate participants and discourage civil disobedience. The NCATC, one of only two such facilities nationwide, is equipped with advanced surveillance tools and employs at least a dozen analysts to promptly respond to requests for information from field agents.
Despite its remote location, the facility exemplifies the "fusion center" model, facilitating rapid information dissemination between national agencies, field agents, and local law enforcement.
Written by urgent.news from The Intercept's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
