Filed Date: June 4, 2026
Case Ongoing
Clearinghouse coding in progress
(This summary is temporary while we research the case further). The plaintiff filed this individual action on June 4, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine against two unnamed, masked federal agents identified as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The complaint arose from events connected to "Operation Catch of the Day," an ICE operation launched on January 20, 2026, in Portland, Maine and surrounding areas, which the complaint alleged involved widespread racial profiling of Black and Brown Mainers, with nearly 200 detentions — the vast majority involving individuals with no criminal records — many of which were later found unlawful by courts. On January 22, 2026, the plaintiff followed DHS vehicles at a safe distance to observe their activities, whereupon the two defendant agents approached his car, ordered him to lower his window, and threatened to arrest him for allegedly "impeding federal law enforcement" under 18 U.S.C. § 111, a charge the complaint alleged no reasonable officer could have believed was supported given the statute's requirement of forcible conduct. As a result of the encounter, the plaintiff allegedly suffered ongoing physical and emotional harm, including shaking, insomnia, elevated blood pressure, depression, hypervigilance, and anxiety, and was chilled from continuing to observe DHS agents in public. The complaint brought two counts under the Maine Civil Rights Act (MCRA), 5 M.R.S. § 4682 — one for First Amendment retaliation and one for an unlawful Fourth Amendment seizure — and sought declaratory relief, compensatory and punitive damages, injunctive relief, nominal damages, attorney's fees, and costs.
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73441419/parties/peck-v-john-doe-1/
BEARD, BRADEN ALEXANDER (Maine)
BUILES, ANA M. (Maine)
LEIGHTON, SHELBY (Maine)
TOWNSEND, ALLAN K. (Maine)
WEBBERT, DAVID G. (Maine)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73441419/peck-v-john-doe-1/
Last updated July 3, 2026, 3:07 a.m.
State / Territory:
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Trump Administration 2.0: Challenges to the Government
Key Dates
Filing Date: June 4, 2026
Case Ongoing: Yes
Case Details
Other Dockets:
District of Maine 2:26-cv-00293
Case Summary of Peck v. John Doe 1, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, https://clearinghouse.net/case/48287/.