A Portland woman has been arrested and is facing a federal felony charge following a confrontational incident at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in South Portland.
Julie Winters, 46, was among three individuals detained during protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies on Tuesday. While the other two protestors were charged with federal misdemeanors and released, Winters has been charged with felony attempted assault on a federal officer.
According to a criminal complaint, Winters, wearing a mask adorned with metallic tiles, brandished a large knife from her backpack shortly before 11:15 p.m.
This altercation began when federal officers approached Winters after they observed her attempting to ignite what was described as an incendiary device near the ICE building.
Reports indicate that Winters threw a knife, measuring a foot long with a curved blade, at an officer, narrowly missing her target.
In the aftermath, an officer deployed a stun gun in an effort to subdue her, prompting Winters to pull a second knife from her waistband.
However, another officer intervened and kicked the second knife away from her grasp, according to the complaint.
Protests outside the ICE office on South Macadam Avenue have been ongoing for several weeks, driven by discontent over local and national immigration enforcement actions, as well as recent deployments of the National Guard to manage larger demonstrations in Los Angeles.
The complaint details images provided by the FBI, showing the curved knife retrieved from the crime scene along with a long rounded knife located in Winters’ backpack at the time of her arrest.
It remains uncertain whether the rounded knife was the one she attempted to use after she fled, described by an officer at the scene as resembling a butcher knife, or if it represented yet another weapon in her possession.
Winters is not new to such confrontations; court records reveal that in December she faced arrest by Portland police for a separate incident involving the alleged assault of a public safety officer.
In that earlier case, she reportedly ran at a Portland officer, swinging her arm and pushing him to the ground while officers attempted to respond to a call regarding a combative individual.
In addition to Winters, Rachel Jean Pope, 28, and Aziel Chambers, 20, were also taken into custody during the protests.
Pope faces a misdemeanor charge of assault on a federal officer for allegedly throwing a metal canister at officers during the protest, striking one after officers deployed gas to disperse the crowd.
Chambers is accused of directing a laser pointer into a federal officer’s eye, resulting in a similar misdemeanor charge of assault on a federal officer.
Chambers also carries additional charges stemming from separate incidents in June, where he reportedly failed to disperse when ordered by officers and created a hazard on federal property.
As the situation continues to develop, the federal investigation into Winters and the protestors remains ongoing, with further legal proceedings anticipated in the coming weeks.
image source from：oregonlive
