‘We will not be intimidated’: 3 anti-ICE protesters plead not guilty to federal charges

BURLINGTON — Three people have denied federal charges stemming from demonstrations where they allegedly blocked doors at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement surveillance facility in Williston.

Peter Booth, 58, of Jericho; Henry Prensky, 80, of Burlington; and Sherri Wormser, 57, of Colchester, appeared Thursday in federal court in Burlington for their arraignments on misdemeanor charges.

Attorney Robert Appel, representing all three, entered not guilty pleas on their behalf, and they were each released on a condition that they not violate any federal, state or local laws.

All three are charged with obstructing access to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement National Criminal Analysis and Targeting Center at the White Cap Business Park in Williston during anti-ICE demonstrations earlier this year.

VTDigger has previously reported that, according to federal records, information at that facility is reviewed and collected from publicly available sources, such as social media, and assists ICE officers with investigations.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Vermont filed the charges in September against the three defendants as well as two other people — Lexington Kennedy, 22, of New York City, and Roan Wade, 23, of Red Hook, New York — in connection with the anti-ICE demonstrations in Williston.

Kennedy and Wade are to be arraigned on similar misdemeanor charges as the three arraigned Thursday.

According to charging documents, Booth, Prensky, Wormser, Kennedy and Wade went into the atrium of the White Cap building Feb. 9 and blocked the doors between the atrium and the federal facility with their bodies. They ignored orders to move, according to the documents. 

Then on May 14, the documents say, Booth and Prensky blocked the doors again. Kennedy and Wade are charged with similar conduct on July 24, according to the documents. 

By blocking the doors to the federal property, the defendants obstructed its “usual use, enjoyment and access,” according to the documents. 

Each offense carries up to 30 days in prison and up to a $5,000 fine. 

Appel, speaking to reporters after the hearing, said he was told by a prosecutor to expect an offer to resolve the cases that did not include jail time. Appel added that if he does receive a plea offer, he is obligated to present it to his client for their consideration.

Booth, Prensky and Wormser read a joint statement outside the federal courthouse to a group of about 30 supporters.

“The purpose of these prosecutions is to intimidate,” Wormser said, adding, “We will not be intimidated.” 

Activists say they plan to continue protesting ICE’s presence in Vermont. Organizers have announced a mock funeral procession Friday starting at the Williston facility in remembrance of people who have died in ICE custody since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term in January 2025. The event will be followed by a sit-in, according to a press release.

The filing of the federal charges is the latest prosecutorial turn following many anti-ICE protests and demonstrations in Vermont.

Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George has declined repeatedly to press state charges against anti-ICE protesters after their arrests at demonstrations in the county, contending that it didn’t serve justice to prosecute them. 

Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark, who also has the authority to bring state criminal charges in Chittenden County, has since filed trespass-related charges against protesters stemming from demonstrations at the White Cap facility. 

Appel, the attorney for the three people who appeared in federal court Thursday, told reporters outside the courtroom that it is extremely rare for prosecutors to bring federal charges in such cases. He said that he would seek to have the charges thrown out on several grounds, including that they violated his clients’ First Amendment rights.

“A potential problem I see is that this is not a federal facility,” added Appel, a former head of the Vermont Human Rights Commission. “It’s rented space in a public building that offers a variety of other services.” 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathanael Burris, the prosecutor, requested a condition of release prohibiting the defendants from coming “within 50 feet of federal facilities or property occupied by the United States Department of Homeland Security” in Vermont, without prior court approval.

Magistrate Judge Kevin Doyle said he wouldn’t impose that restriction, adding that he was concerned the request was too broad and could result in violations for being at airports or ports of entry where Homeland Security may be located as well.

Read the story on VTDigger here: ‘We will not be intimidated’: 3 anti-ICE protesters plead not guilty to federal charges.