{"id":49930,"date":"2026-08-28T12:31:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T19:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=49930"},"modified":"2026-08-28T12:31:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T19:31:09","slug":"im-going-to-ask-tom-maine-gop-nominee-for-governor-calls-for-ice-at-polling-stations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/08\/28\/im-going-to-ask-tom-maine-gop-nominee-for-governor-calls-for-ice-at-polling-stations\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I\u2019m Going to Ask Tom\u2019: Maine GOP Nominee for Governor Calls for ICE at Polling Stations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/republican-gubernatorial-nominee-bobby-charles.png?id=67685269&amp;width=1200&amp;height=400&amp;quality=70&amp;coordinates=0%2C46%2C0%2C178\" alt=\"Republican gubernatorial nominee Bobby Charles \"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Republican gubernatorial nominee Bobby Charles of Maine said in audio released by the Bangor Daily News on August 26, 2026 that he would ask the Trump administration to deploy US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to polling places in the state.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Screenshot by Bobby Charles for Maine Governor Campaign Committee)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cHis plan to ask Trump\u2019s border czar to send ICE agents to Maine polling places just weeks before Election Day is not only deeply alarming\u2014it is likely illegal,\u201d said the head of the state Democratic Party.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/julia-conley\">Julia Conley<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aug 27, 2026 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By letting attendees at a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/maine\">Maine<\/a>&nbsp;Young&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/republicans\">Republicans<\/a>&nbsp;event in on his \u201csecret\u201d plan for the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/midterm-elections\">midterm elections<\/a>, the state\u2019s Republican nominee for governor detailed a proposal that, according to one public policy think tank, is wholly illegal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In an audio clip&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bangordailynews.com\/2026\/08\/26\/politics\/elections\/bobby-charles-donald-trumps-border-czar-send-ice-to-maine-polls-joam40zk0w\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">released<\/a>&nbsp;Wednesday by the Bangor Daily News, Bobby Charles, a lawyer and former Reagan administration staffer, boasted about his connections to the Trump administration\u2019s border czar, Tom Homan, a key figure in President Donald Trump\u2019s mass deportation operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>RECOMMENDED&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/peggy-flanagan-tafoya-ice\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/democratic-candidate-for-us-senate-minnesota-lt-gov-peggy-flanagan-speaks-during-a-primary-election-night-party-on-august-11.jpg?id=67613572&amp;width=1200&amp;height=1200&amp;quality=70&amp;coordinates=170%2C0%2C171%2C0\" alt=\"Peggy Flanagan Unloads on GOP Rival for Saying ICE Treated Kids \u2018Really Well\u2019 During Minnesota Siege\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/peggy-flanagan-tafoya-ice\">Peggy Flanagan Unloads on GOP Rival for Saying ICE Treated Kids \u2018Really Well\u2019 During Minnesota Siege<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/michigan-primary-election-2026\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/michigan-senate-candidate-abdul-el-sayed-holds-rally-in-detroit-with-sen-bernie-sanders-and-rep-alexandria-ocasio-cortez.jpg?id=67571500&amp;width=1200&amp;height=1200&amp;quality=70&amp;coordinates=833%2C0%2C834%2C0\" alt=\"Michigan Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed Holds Rally In Detroit With Sen. Bernie Sanders And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/michigan-primary-election-2026\">Progressives Aim to Defeat AIPAC Cash, Democratic Establishment in Michigan and Missouri Primaries<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHere\u2019s my secret. I have a friend named Tom Homan,\u201d said Charles, drawing applause from the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/gop\">GOP<\/a>\u00a0voters. \u201cI\u2019m going to ask Tom&#8230; three or four weeks before the election, maybe three, I\u2019m going to make an appeal for ICE and Marshals to be at our voting booths.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udea8 NEW Audio: Bobby Charles reveals &quot;secret&quot; plan to invite ICE to Maine three weeks before Election Day. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nSx2o9yxjJ\">pic.twitter.com\/nSx2o9yxjJ<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Maine Democrats (@MaineDems) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MaineDems\/status\/2092575292049027443?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 26, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Charles was referring to US&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/immigration\">Immigration<\/a>&nbsp;and Customs Enforcement and the US Marshals, both armed federal law enforcement officers whose presence at polling sites to intimidate voters would be against the law,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brennancenter.org\/our-work\/research-reports\/preventing-voter-intimidation-federal-agents-polls\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according<\/a>&nbsp;to the Brennan Center for Justice .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trump has also alluded to sending ICE and other armed federal agents to polling places during the midterm elections in November,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/article\/2026\/08\/26\/the-false-fear-of-noncitizen-voting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">saying<\/a>&nbsp;in May when he was asked about the idea that he would \u201cdo anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the Brennan Center for Justice last month, senior counsel Hayne Yoon&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brennancenter.org\/our-work\/research-reports\/preventing-voter-intimidation-federal-agents-polls\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a>&nbsp;that \u201cdespite the implied threat, the law is clear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSending armed federal agents, including those from ICE, to election sites is illegal,\u201d wrote Yoon. \u201cFederal law and many states\u2019 laws prohibit not only armed federal agents at polling sites, but also interference in elections or voter intimidation by any officials or private citizens. More important, using these tactics would be a flagrant attempt to hold on to power through force and intimidation and an affront to free and fair elections.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In his comments at the Young Republicans event, Charles also&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/state-watch\/6053299-gop-nominee-maine-ice-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">asked<\/a>&nbsp;rhetorically whether \u201cillegals who are being paid money\u201d to vote would \u201clike\u201d the deployment of ICE agents at polling places. The remark made the gubernatorial candidate one of several Republicans to push the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/opinion\/gop-noncitizen-voting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">baseless claim<\/a>&nbsp;that undocumented immigrants or noncitizens have committed voter fraud in order to sway elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are no documented reports of immigrants ever being paid to vote, and a 2024 American Immigration Council&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org\/blog\/myths-about-noncitizen-voting-heritage-foundation-data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">analysis<\/a>&nbsp;of data collected by the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/right-wing\">right-wing<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/heritage-foundation\">Heritage Foundation<\/a>&nbsp;found only 68 cases of proven noncitizen voting dating back to 2000, \u201camounting to less than 0.0001% of total votes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Democratic gubernatorial candidate Hannah Pingree said Wednesday that Charles\u2019 comments make clear that he would push Trump\u2019s MAGA agenda, despite his recent&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bangordailynews.com\/2026\/08\/26\/politics\/elections\/bobby-charles-donald-trumps-border-czar-send-ice-to-maine-polls-joam40zk0w\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">attempts<\/a>&nbsp;to distance himself from the president, who is unpopular with Mainers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHe is begging Trump\u2019s ICE to come interfere with our free and fair elections,\u201d&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PingreeHannah\/status\/2092776054200893677\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>&nbsp;Pingree. \u201cI think that conduct speaks for itself and I trust the Maine people to see it for what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Devon Murphy-Anderson, executive director of the Maine&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/democratic-party\">Democratic Party<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/mainedems.org\/new-audio-of-bobby-charles-secret-plan-to-invite-trumps-ice-to-maine-polling-locations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">added<\/a>&nbsp;that Charles \u201ccontinues to prove that he is a MAGA extremist who will stop at nothing to put himself and his MAGA agenda ahead of Mainers. His plan to ask Trump\u2019s border czar to send ICE agents to Maine polling places just weeks before Election Day is not only deeply alarming\u2014it is likely illegal. This is a blatant attempt to intimidate voters and yet another reason Bobby Charles is too extreme for Maine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Charles\u2019 comments come six weeks after an ICE agent fatally shot Biddeford, Maine resident Johan Sebasti\u00e1n Dur\u00e1n Guerrero in an incident that the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/trump-administration\">Trump administration<\/a>&nbsp;has not&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/johan-guerrero\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">appeared<\/a>&nbsp;to investigate. ICE has made more arrests in Maine so far this year than it did in all of 2024-25 combined, and out of 491 arrests made, 89% of those detained had no criminal convictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Homan recently&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/mainemorningstar.com\/2026\/08\/26\/more-ice-arrests-so-far-this-year-in-maine-than-previous-two-combined-data-show\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a>&nbsp;a Republican state lawmaker that the state would soon \u201csee a lot more enforcement action\u201d due to Trump\u2019s decision to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and Syrians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Justice Department announced this month that it would deploy at least 1,000 federal officers to polling places as people vote in the November 3 elections. The administration has suggested the public should not be alarmed by the plan because anyone who is a citizen will not be targeted by the agents, but as the ACLU\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/new-aclu-report-documents-widespread-and-unchecked-civil-rights-abuses-by-immigration-agents-in-president-trumps-second-term\" target=\"_blank\">noted<\/a>, at least 155 citizens in eight states last year, including 32\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/children\">children<\/a>, were detained, targeted, or subjected to misconduct by federal immigration agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/julia-conley\">Julia Conley<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Julia Conley is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/julia-conley\">Full Bio &gt;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republican gubernatorial nominee Bobby Charles of Maine said in audio released by the Bangor Daily News on August 26, 2026 that he would ask the Trump administration to deploy US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to polling places in the state.&nbsp; (Screenshot by Bobby Charles for Maine Governor Campaign Committee)&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/08\/28\/im-going-to-ask-tom-maine-gop-nominee-for-governor-calls-for-ice-at-polling-stations\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2004,2176],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49930"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49930"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49931,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49930\/revisions\/49931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}