ICE Agent Faces Contempt After Arresting Man Mid-Trial in Boston Courtroom
A Boston judge didn’t mince words this week, holding a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in contempt after he detained a man in the middle of his trial.
ICE agent Brian Sullivan took Wilson Martell-Lebron into custody last Thursday (March 27) after opening statements and the first witness testimony in his criminal trial, the Associated Press reported.
The arrest happened outside the courtroom, and according to Martell-Lebron’s attorney, the agents did not identify themselves before whisking his client into a pickup truck and driving off.
“It’s a case of violating a defendant’s right to present at trial and confront witnesses against him,” Judge Mark Summerville said from the bench Monday. “It couldn’t be more serious.”
Summerville not only tossed the charge — making false statements on a driver’s license application — but also hit Sullivan with a contempt charge. The incident is now under review by Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office.
“We were dismayed and surprised when our prosecution of Wilson Martell-Lebron was interrupted by ICE apprehending him in the middle of his trial,” said DA spokesperson James Borghesani. “Federal authorities should not have detained him and interfered with our efforts to hold him accountable.”
Martell-Lebron, who is from the Dominican Republic and lives in Massachusetts with family, is now being held at the Plymouth detention facility for allegedly being undocumented.
His lawyer, Ryan Sullivan, blasted the arrest as a breach of justice. “There is no greater injustice in my mind than the government arresting someone, without identifying themselves, and preventing them from exercising their constitutionally guaranteed right to a jury trial,” he said.
The arrest reignites debate over immigration officers operating in or near courthouses — a practice that surged during Trump’s first term and drew legal challenges. In this latest confrontation, the judge’s decision seemingly sends a broader message that constitutional rights can not be tossed aside—not even by federal agents.
