Pro-Palestine demonstrators plead not guilty to charges from February protest

A small group of pro-Palestine protestors gather outside the Cumberland County Courthouse where 11 protestors who were arrested for blocking the Franklin Arterial on Feb. 2 were being arraigned on Thursday. Staff photo by Gregory Rec

Eleven people who were arrested last month at a pro-Palestine protest in Portland have pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges.

The group, who range in age from 25 to 77 and are from several different Maine towns, had blocked traffic on Franklin Street near Marginal Way on Feb. 2 for about 45 minutes, police said. About 200 people had gathered that afternoon to call for a cease-fire.

As the defendants entered their pleas in Cumberland County Superior Court on Thursday, a few tried to speak about the war but were cut off each time by Superior Justice Deborah Cashman.

“Because my elected representatives are ignoring the will of the majority of their constituents,” said Lisa Savage, 69, “and funding genocide in Gaza –”

“Ma’am,” Cashman said, interrupting.

“I plead not guilty,” Savage replied.

The Israeli offensive has killed at least 31,553 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead. The United Nations said last week that a quarter of the survivors on the strip were starving.

As the death toll increases, protests around the country are picking up. In Maine, protesters have gathered weekly at Longfellow Square. They have protested outside political offices, the State Theater, and at General Dynamics in Saco and Bath Iron Works, where activists say weapons manufacturers are profiting from the war.

Most demonstrations have not ended in arrest. Seven people were arrested outside Rep. Jared Golden’s Bangor office in November, but the charges against them were later dropped.

The Portland defendants, as identified by police – including Savage and Mark Roman of Solon, Sophia Ridgely Fuller of Belfast, Jamila Levasseur of Waldo, Paige Milligan of Brunswick, Haley Linnet of Old Orchard Beach, Natalie Joyce of Waterville, and Abigail Fuller, Roryalice Hoecker, Hallie Herz and Yusuf Ebrahim of Portland – were released on $500 unsecured bails on the day of their arrests.

Only eight of the defendants were in the courtroom Thursday. Their attorney, Leonard Sharon, entered not guilty pleas on their behalf.

Demonstrators blocking Franklin Arterial are arrested Feb. 2 while protesting Israel’s war in Gaza. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Each defendant was warned against “loitering” in public ways or else they risk new criminal charges for violating the conditions of their release, which Cashman said could result in jail time.

“Are children still starving in Gaza, paid for by my tax dollars?” Savage said when asked if she still planned to protest.

After the hearing, Herz, who is Jewish, said it’s bothersome when people accuse pro-Palestine rallies of being antisemitic.

“I want to be clear that it’s part of my Judaism to protest,” Herz said. “To say, ‘not in my name.'”

While the 11 defendants were being arraigned Thursday, a handful of other protesters stood outside the court entrance, holding a banner that said “Maine Jews for a Free Palestine.”

Herz said that while the criminal charges are uncomfortable, it pales in comparison to the death toll and famine in Gaza.

“It’s not going to stop me from getting out there,” Herz said.

Some of the defendants said before Thursday’s hearing, prosecutors offered to dismiss the charges if they pleaded guilty and completed 30 hours of community service.

Savage said the group collectively rejected the plea deal.

Assistant District Attorney Meg Elam did not respond to an email to her office seeking to discuss their pleas.