AUGUSTA, ME, 2026 — Free Speech For People, a national nonpartisan legal advocacy organization, today submitted a letter urging Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey, and the District Attorneys of Cumberland, York, and Androscoggin Counties to open criminal investigations into the unlawful actions of federal agents operating in Maine.

The submission details a consistent pattern of criminal activity by federal agents across Maine in January 2026, including unlawful detentions, violent assaults, kidnappings, and racially motivated targeting of communities of color, as part of the Trump Administration’s immigration operations.

Free Speech For People’s letter alleges that these acts were part of a coordinated criminal conspiracy directed by President Donald Trump and senior administration officials, intended not to enforce federal law but to punish and terrorize immigrants and political opponents.

“Federal agents occupied Maine because of Trump’s personal antagonism toward Governor Mills and his documented racism toward the Somali American community,” said Courtney Hostetler, Legal Director for Free Speech For People. “Maine officials must act to defend their constituents from politically motivated and racist uses of force.”

While the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts were purportedly aimed at the “worst of the worst,” publicly available evidence shows that the vast majority had no criminal history, and Trump’s own remarks show that these actions are designed to intimidate political opponents and terrorize communities of color rather than any coherent law enforcement objective.

Federal agents engaged in a series of violent and unlawful actions, including:

• Detaining individuals without cause;
• Using excessive force against residents and citizens in the course of immigration arrests, including, in one incident, smashing the windows of a car with a one-year old infant inside, then leaving the mother—who speaks little English and cannot drive—alone with her child to fend for herself;
• Intimidating peaceful protestors by showing up at their houses and telling them they will be added to a “domestic terrorist” database.

“States may prosecute federal agents and officials who violate state criminal law when they lack the authority to take the action or when their actions were not reasonable under the circumstances,” said Ben Clements, Chairman and Senior Legal Advisor at Free Speech For People. “That includes officials who gave the orders, including the President himself.”

Free Speech For People emphasizes that while federal prosecutors have been compromised by the administration’s own misconduct, state and local authorities retain independent jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes committed within their borders.

“Despite the clear illegality of these actions, Maine officials cannot rely on the federal government to conduct serious investigations of federal officers,” said Ben Horton, Counsel at Free Speech For People. “For there to be investigations, for there to be accountability, state officials must act.”

Read the letter here.