Worcester City Hall closes ahead of planned ICE protest due to public safety concerns
Worcester City Hall closed to the public early Tuesday ahead of a planned protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Dozens of people protested at the same time as a City Council meeting was held virtually.
Worcester City Hall closed to the public at 5 p.m. "out of an abundance of caution" because of "public safety concerns."
Protest organizers said they are rallying against "brutal arrests" by ICE and Worcester police.
Worcester ICE arrest
Last Thursday, Worcester police said an "unruly" crowd tried to stop ICE agents from detaining a woman. Video showed about 25 people surrounding a car on Eureka Street with the woman inside.
According to police, federal agents had arrested the woman and were attempting to leave the scene when the crowd tried to stop them.
"The crowd was unruly, and several people were putting their hands on federal agents and Worcester officers in an attempt to keep the vehicle and the arrestee from leaving," Worcester police said in a statement.
Police said a girl holding a baby, who stood in front of the car, was arrested on four charges, including child endangerment. She is believed to be the daughter of the woman who was detained. Police also arrested 38-year-old Ashley Spring for allegedly pushing officers and throwing an unknown liquid on them.
"This stunt is just going to make us louder," Spring said at the protest Tuesday. "This is not how we treat our people."
Mayor Joseph Petty said he was not notified about the ICE activity in advance. "The fear of ICE tearing a family apart is the worst nightmare of so many in our city," he said in a statement.
Threats against city officials
At the same time as the ICE protest, a council meeting would have been happening, but that went virtual. The mayor says city officials and workers have been threatened with violence
"City Hall police have been inundated with threatening, verbally abusive and disturbing phone calls, making threats to city employees and elected officials," Mayor Petty said.
The mayor said he understands the city is hurting right now, but this meeting had to be held virtually to ensure public safety.
Protesters demand changes
Some protesters objected to the closure of the public City Hall.
"They need to not step back and close the doors to a building that is designed for us to be here and talk to people. This was our chance to talk to them, and they shut us down. They silenced us, so we're here to be loud," said protester Michelle Dooling.
Protesters said they want the city to write a policy preventing city police from participating in ICE operations. Many protesters held signs urging the Worcester Police Department to protect the people of the city rather than ICE agents.
"I think that it's important that we help the police remember that they're here to protect and serve the people. They work for Worcester," said protester Alicia Weir.
After another video of an ICE agent smashing into a car in Waltham surfaced, Worcester Senator Peter Durant says the community should not rush to judgment and intervention, as law enforcement try to do their job.
"As this continues to escalate which is what we're seeing, this is going to continue to escalate more and more, someone's going to get hurt and someone's going to get hurt very badly," Durant said.
