How Maine’s news outlets are covering yet another killing at the hands of ICE

For the second time in a week, an ICE agent has shot and killed a man, this time in Biddeford, Maine, southeast of Portland.

The circumstances are murky. The Trump regime claims that the victim of Monday’s shooting, a Colombian named Joan Sebastian Guerrero, was endangering public safety as he attempted to drive away. There’s no evidence for that, and given the official lies that were told about the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti earlier this year, we have every reason to be skeptical. It’s notable, too, that Guerrero was reportedly not even the person ICE was looking for.

Last week, a federal agent in Houston fatally shot Lorenza Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national who — like Guerrero — was also not the person ICE was seeking.

Earlier today I scanned Maine news outlets to see what they were reporting. I’m going to start with my Northeastern colleague Meg Heckman, who was a fledgling reporter at the Biddeford Journal Tribune in 2001. She posted a thread on Bluesky that began:

1/n: The first newspaper that hired me was the Biddeford Journal-Tribune and, for the 11 months I worked there, that city was mine. It was late August 2001 when I moved in to a truly dodgy apartment a few blocks away the intersection where, this morning, ICE agents shot a man to death.

— Meg Heckman (@megheckman.bsky.social) 2026-07-13T22:46:16.707Z

She closed her thread with this: “I love you, Biddeford. Stay strong. Stay angry. May the victim’s family eventually find some peace. And good luck to all the journalists and other truth seekers on the ground. We need you.”

The Journal Tribune ceased publication in 2019. These days the local daily newspaper is the Portland Press Herald, which began offering a live blog outside its paywall on Monday. Especially notable is the Press Herald’s account of a protest at Republican Sen. Susan Collins’ Biddeford office on Monday: “Protestors chanted ‘Vote her out’ and other slogans opposing Collins’ votes to increase ICE funding.”

At a moment when Maine Democrats are trying to find their footing after the implosion of Graham Platner’s candidacy, Collins’ votes enabling ICE violence could prove to be a potent issue. Collins’ only reaction to Guerrero’s killing was to call for an investigation.

Biddeford also has a nonprofit news outlet called the Biddeford Gazette. That’s where I found a quirky opinion piece about the protest by Tom McPheeters, who shadowed Jon Featherston of the right-wing Maine Wire at Monday’s protest. According to McPheeters, a group of protesters swarmed around Featherston as he attempted to cover the demonstration and interview Democratic Senate candidate Nirav Shah:

An elderly bystander (me) mentioned something about the First Amendment to one of the group circling Fetherston. Whatever effect that had, I saw no more of the sign dance although the protesters continue to hover around the reporter.

Later I asked Fetherston whether he thought his First Amendment rights were being violated. “As long as they don’t put their hands on me, they have a First Amendment right,” he said.

In addition to the Maine Wire, the state also has a left-wing news site called Beacon, part of the Maine People’s Alliance. Both sites are following developments in Biddeford.

Maine also has several respected statewide nonprofit outlets. The largest is The Maine Monitor; the Monitor, though, devotes most of its resources to in-depth coverage of public policy and politics, not breaking news. As of this writing, the principal story it’s carrying on the shooting is from the Bangor Daily News, one of its partners, which offers some statewide coverage and has been reporting on developments in Biddeford.

The Maine Morning Star, part of the States Newsroom network of nonprofit news sites, posted several stories about the incident on Monday but none so far today. Maine Public, the name of the state’s public radio and television stations, is following developments as well.

Finally, Maine’s television stations have been covering the shooting and its aftermath as well.

Apologies if I’m missing any outlets that ought to be included. You can add them in the comments.