A Portland resident, David Pearl, 35, was found guilty on two counts related to incidents at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in South Portland. The verdict was delivered following a bench trial.
Pearl was convicted of failing to obey a lawful order and creating a disturbance. According to court documents, on June 21, 2025, law enforcement vehicles were blocked from leaving the ICE facility by a group of people. While most individuals left the area when asked, Pearl and others remained and were subsequently taken into custody.
On June 29, 2025, Pearl returned to the ICE facility as federal officers attempted to arrest another person. During this incident, Pearl interfered by trying to physically separate that individual from law enforcement officers. He was detained and cited for impeding or disrupting official duties.
Pearl faced charges the next day for failing to obey a lawful order and creating a disturbance.
The Federal Protective Service led the investigation into these events. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah Bolstad and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Bodell prosecuted the case.
Scott Bradford has served as U.S. Attorney for Oregon after holding roles such as Chief of the White Collar Unit and Acting Chief of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section (official website). The office is responsible for community outreach programs aimed at fighting crime and protecting rights across Oregon (official website). The District of Oregon’s U.S. Attorney’s Office operates out of Portland, Eugene, and Medford (official website), with 107 staff members among its team (official website). It functions as one of 93 offices nationwide under the Department of Justice (official website) and works to represent the United States in civil and criminal matters while promoting trust in the federal judicial system (official website).
