A trial began Monday of a 30-year-old Portland woman who is accused of trying to pry a Portland police officer’s hands off another protester being arrested during a demonstration attended by hundreds in front of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in South Portland in May.
Deputy District Attorney Alexander Garcia told jurors that Catherine Elizabeth Esperanza was among the first in a “human chain” of protesters who attempted to yank police away from making the arrest on May 1, 2026 — leading prosecutors to charge her with misdemeanor interfering with a police officer.
Esperanza’s public defender, however, told jurors that Esperanza was unaware that the other protester was under arrest and she wasn’t trying to impede officers. Rather, Esperanza was pushed toward the ground when a surge of police moved into the crowd, and she grabbed onto whatever she could to stay upright. And that something happened to be the person under arrest…