The top prosecutor in Chittenden County has decided not to charge six protesters arrested last month during the federal immigration raid in South Burlington.
Vermont State Police and Burlington Police each arrested three people amid clashes between police and activists during the March 11 incident.
Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George said in an interview Wednesday that she’s declining to charge the three people Vermont State Police cited for disorderly conduct.
“It remained unclear to me why those three were being arrested and not others who were engaging in the same behavior,” George said. “There was no violence, there was no physical contact, there was no harm, no physical harm, caused by any of them.”
Vermont State Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The chaotic scene marked the first major confrontation in Vermont between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and activists.
Protesters attempted to stop ICE agents from executing a search warrant on a Dorset Street home. The situation escalated after people refused to leave the front door. Vermont State Police moved protesters from the door to allow ICE agents to enter and remove three people — none of whom, it was later revealed, were named as subjects of the warrant.
Violent clashes broke out as protesters sought to prevent ICE vehicles from leaving the scene, and in some cases, police wrestled protesters to the ground. Law enforcement officials say protesters spat at officers and threw objects at them.
Robert Langellier, one of the three protesters arrested by state police, told Vermont Public on Wednesday that he was among a group of people who tried to prevent immigration agents from driving away.
Langellier said there was a “tug of war situation” going on where state police would try to pull people out of the crowd and protesters would hold onto those people.
“I wasn't screaming, I wasn't spitting, I wasn't like, doing anything violent,” Langellier said. “Somebody from Vermont State Police grabbed me, ripped me off the line into a crowd of Vermont State Police officers, where they threw me to the ground and handcuffed me and arrested me.”
“I don't feel as if I did anything wrong, so I don't feel like I am in an ethical or moral quagmire,” Langellier added.
George referred the other three criminal cases to the Burlington Community Justice Center for a “restorative process.”
Those three people were arrested by Burlington Police: one person was cited for assault on a law enforcement officer, another for hindering and resisting arrest and a third person for impeding an officer and hindering arrest.
George said those individuals were “using their bodies and some force to get in the way” of police, and one person allegedly threw an object at law enforcement officers.
“There's some argument that they escalated some of the situation, and that they may have gone beyond civil disobedience into unacceptable and maybe even criminal behavior,” George said.
But George said the same videos that showed protesters' potentially criminal behavior also showed law enforcement officers escalating the situation.
“I felt like sending them through this restorative process, including the law enforcement officers who were involved, would be the best way to attempt to have everybody involved take some responsibility and accountability for their own actions,” she said.
Burlington Police won’t participate in the restorative process, interim police chief Shawn Burke said in an email on Wednesday. Burke said while the department recognizes harm caused by federal immigration agents, “the rule of law must be upheld.”
“Engaging in physical confrontations with law enforcement in the street is not protected speech or expressive conduct under the First Amendment,” Burke said.
Activists have accused police of using excessive force against them during the incident. But last week, South Burlington police and state police leaders said their ‘after action’ reviews of the incident found officers did not use excessive force.
The Burlington Police Department is still investigating a use-of-force complaint against one of its officers.
