Protester Arrested After Locking Herself In Front Of DOC HQ

MILFORD, MA — An immigration protest at the Massachusetts Department of Corrections Headquarters on Maple Street drew a police presence on Thursday morning. Two people locked themselves to concrete blockades in front of the building. The FANG Collective has taken credit as the group behind the demonstration.

Milford Chief Thomas O'Loughlin said of the two protesters who locked themselves, one voluntarily released himself and was allowed to walk away but a second stayed. She was released by state police who then arrested her. O'Loughlin said the two protesters were on state property but a handful of activists holding signs in support were standing across the street. O'Loughlin said the activists across the street were peaceful and caused no trouble.

The FANG Collective is a group that seeks to escalate resistance to the fracked gas industry while supporting other movements for justice, according to its website. FANG stands for “Fighting Against Natural Gas Convergence."

FANG Collective Organizer, Lee, said the protest is part of the group's"Week of Action to #ShutDownICE." The group was protesting the Massachusetts Department of Corrections 287 (g) agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement that allows Mass DOC and other local law enforcement agencies in the same agreement, to question people's immigration status and act as an ICE officer would, including detaining people on immigration charges.

The agreements expire on June 30 but could be renewed by counties across the Commonwealth. Lee said the protest and actions in handling the DOC was different than other counties they have dealt with. "It's a bigger target and because of the administrative nature of it, it can be a challenge," she said. The group has protested with similar demands in other counties as well, "WE've seen that there are counties in Massachusetts, like Bristol and Plymouth County, whose sheriffs are aggressively holding onto these agreements," Lee said.

While the agreements can be renewed, they can also be voided at any time, Lee added. She said the collective plans to continue to "mobilize communities against these agreements."

In total, the group said they shut down the entrances to the DOC for three hours, staring the protest around 7 a.m. and ending around 10 a.m. Milford police, State police and the bomb squad all reported to the scene.

State police have taken over the case and the woman arrested will be arraigned in Milford District Court.

State police told Patch they were still gathering information and could not comment yet.