Good afternoon! Today we remember the good work of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. and how important it is to continue his work today in the face of authoritarian oppression.
ICE is now in Maine in several cities. The newsletter will be sporadic for the next few weeks, so be sure to check out our Blue Sky and Instagram accounts for current info.
Following this newsletter is today’s Emanuel’s Daily Action Email from Augusta – the daily action along with a link to his great list of important actions and information. Today’s call to action has more requests about ICE here in Maine.
Three new actions from Hancock County Democrats: Action 197 – Walkout on January 20th (tomorrow!) (1/15), Action 198 – Defund ICE (1/16), and Action 199 – Maine legislation 1/19-1/23 (1/18). More Hancock County Democrats actions are found here.
Also, a new action from the Bold Coast Civic Alliance, Bold Coast Civic Alliance (1/16), on how to stop ICE and keep ICE out of Maine. More BCCA actions here.
A lot of research goes into these additional actions, so be sure to read them!
And THANK YOU to supporters who have been donating to our ActBlue fund! Planning events and maintaining the website and email list take money, so these donations are appreciated!
Current News:
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Weekly vigils are happening here in the Bangor area!
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Tuesdays
Weekly Vigil at the Federal Building in Bangor – 11:00 am
(This Tuesday Protest celebrated one year and was mentioned in Robert Hubble’s Substack on 1/7/2026!)
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Wednesdays
Weekly Orono Vigil in the town center,
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm.
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NEW WEEKLY THURSDAY VIGIL!
At the Federal Building in Bangor
3:00 p.m.
Based on the success of last week’s protest, this is now happening every Thursday to keep Trump’s lawlessness and outrages before the public.
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Fridays
Bangor Visibility Brigade
The week finishes with two highway overpass actions! There is the Visibility Brigade on the Essex Street I-95 overpass at the new time of 3:00 p.m. Learn more here. Tell them you read about it here!
Governor Mills’ Statement on Potential Federal Law Enforcement Operations in Maine
Governor Mills issued a statement recently concerning ICE activity here in Maine.
Click here to see her statement on Vimeo.
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Upcoming Events:
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Come See the New Dunlap for Congress Office!
Friday, 1/23/26
“Join us for the opening of our campaign office! Come meet Matt Dunlap, connect with fellow volunteers and supporters, and help us kick off the campaign by signing petitions and getting involved. We’ll share campaign updates, talk about how you can help, and start building momentum together. Hope to see you there!”
Register here on the Mobilize site.
Date: Friday, January 23, 2026
Event begins: 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm;
Location: Matt Dunlap For Congress Offices
275 Main Street, ME 04468
Between Center Street and Middle Street
Here We Go Map
Jordan Wood in Orono! Town Hall at the Orono Public Library!
Thursday, 1/29/26
About this event
Orono! Democratic House Candidate Jordan Wood is coming to meet you. We’ll be at the Orono Public Library. Come out to meet Jordan, learn why he’s the strongest candidate to defeat Paul LePage, and hear about what his plans as your next Congressman: sweeping campaign finance reform, passing the Ultra-Millionaire Wealth Tax, enacting universal childcare and addressing the affordability crisis head on.
Bring your friends and family!
Register here on the Mobilize site.
Date: Thursday, January 29, 2026
Event begins: 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm;
Doors Open: 5:15 pm
Location: Orono Public Library
39 Pine St Orono, ME 04473
Here We Go Map
Food AND Medicine
Annual Meeting
Saturday, January 31
9:00 am – 1:00 pm
with lunch at noon (lots of fun!)
FAM’s 2026 Annual Meeting, in person is best, but you can also Zoom if needed; the Zoom link will be shared prior to the meeting to those who register for the Zoom. RSVP is required to attend. FAM members will have an opportunity to elect new board members and vote on proposed bylaws changes.
FAM membership is NOT required to attend, so if you aren’t a member but want to get to know us better, come to the meeting. We love to meet new people!
The program will start promptly at 9am, and we’ll have lunch together at Noon.
Location: The Food AND Medicine Solidarity Center in Brewer
20 Ivers Street
Brewer, ME 04412
Other News:
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As mentioned in the BCCA Special Edition action, Indivisible has a toolkit to help us relay the message to Stop Trump’s War in Venezuela:
“The Trump administration is dragging us into war with Venezuela. On the night of January 2, they launched an attack that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Maduro.
“Now Trump has declared that the US will “run” Venezuela and control oil production until a transition of power can take place. He is disregarding national sovereignty and forcing a regime-change all without authorization from Congress and without citing evidence of a legitimate threat to the United States.
“And it’s all in service of his own authoritarian ambitions. If he’s not stopped, Trump will continue this power grab, escalating violence in the region and putting US service members and civilians in danger unnecessarily.
“We need Congress to check this regime’s lawless violence, or there’s no telling where this will end. The Constitution states clearly that war powers belong to Congress—not the White House.
“Every Member of Congress must do everything in their power to stand up to Trump and prevent war with Venezuela.”
Go to Take Action: Stop Trump’s War in Venezuela to see what you can do.
How Maine Politicians Reacted to Trump’s Illegal Actions in Venezuela
From the Bangor Daily News article, “How Maine politicians reacted to the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro,” by Michael Shepherd on January 3, 2026. See it here. You will need a paid account to read it, but here are some important excerpts:
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins
The Republican senator said in a statement that she was personally briefed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying Maduro was “a narco-terrorist and international drug trafficker who has been indicted twice in U.S. courts and who should stand trial in this country.”
“Congress should have been informed about the operation earlier and needs to be involved as this situation evolves,” she said.
Gov. Janet Mills
Mills, who is running for the Democratic nomination to face Collins in 2026, said on X that Trump was moving the U.S. “closer to a costly, unnecessary, and unjustified war” in part because he knows Republicans in Congress won’t hold him accountable.
Graham Platner
The progressive military veteran facing Mills in the primary had one of the most aggressive lines against Trump’s move, noting Collins’ vote in the Senate against a war powers resolution on Venezuela. He reacted to a Trump video touting the invasion by saying he watched friends die in Iraq in the wake of similar speeches.
“From Iraq to Venezuela, you can count on Susan Collins to enable illegal foreign wars,” he said on X.
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree
Trump’s move is “a breathtaking abuse of power,” the Democrat from Maine’s 1st District said in a statement. While she called Maduro “a ruthless dictator,” she said Trump does not have the power to pursue regime change without congressional approval.
“This reckless move risks destabilizing an already fragile region, puts millions of civilians at risk, and further isolates us from our friends and allies,” she said.
State Auditor Matt Dunlap
The Democratic candidate for the 2nd District called Trump’s move “absolutely reckless” in a statement.
“In a functioning democracy, this kind of reckless, unilateral action would be condemned across party lines,” he said. “Instead, one party is bending over backwards to justify it.”
Jordan Wood
Wood, a former Democratic political operative who ran for the U.S. Senate before switching into the 2nd District race, said on social media that “no president can unilaterally take us to war.”
“Yes, Maduro is a lawless dictator, but that does not give Trump permission to invade,” he said.
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Also, from Senator Angus King:
His podcast conversation with Senator Jon Tester on Saturday
His interview with CNN News Central this morning
Please call your representatives in Washington. Go to Take Action: Stop Trump’s War in Venezuela to see what you can do.
CBS News and the
60 Minutes CECOT Story
In case you missed it, we want to share with you the CBS 60 Minutes story that was to have aired on December 21st, 2025. The Trump-friendly CBS News editor-in-chief axed this story that was about the administration sending Venezuelans to the maximum security prison in El Salvador. It was not broadcast in our country, but was available in Canada and was available on the Internet Archives site here, but has since been removed from that specific location. It is still available here, also on the Internet Archives.
Please see issue no. 5 in the BCCA action (12/29) for more details on the state of CBS News and their collaboration with the Trump administration. This Wikipedia article also has good information, including background discussing the Paramount-Skydance merger.
Join Indivisible Bangor!
Do you want to become more involved? Would you like to help with the website and communications? How about helping to organize events, such as rallies and visibilty actions or be a peacekeeper? Or do you just want to keep up with what we’re doing? Sign up to volunteer with Indivisible Bangor! Your level of involvement is up to you!
Weekly member meetings are on Zoom with in-person meetings on the first Wednesday of the month. Please click the link below to sign up and we’ll help you with the process of becoming a member of Indivisible Bangor!
New members, and current members, too, are invited to join one of our monthly Zoom informational meetings, which will resume after the holidays!
Donate to a Food Bank or Pantry
The shutdown is over, but the need is not. There are still cuts to programs that help people with food and other needs.
Please DONATE to a local food pantry- food, personal items, and even cash. Faith Linking in Action maintains a database of all food pantries and free meals– organized by both location and day of the week– in the Bangor area. Check it out here.
Also, ActivateMaine has created a site, SNAP Into Action: “a statewide effort to help those who are affected by the freezing of benefits due to the Government shut down.” If you know of any food drives that are happening, please visit this site to add it to the database!
The Maine ICE Watch Hotline
The purpose of the hotline is to protect immigrant families by providing accurate, real-time information about ICE and Border Patrol activity and connect Maine families to resources and support services during a time of heightened enforcement and targeting of immigrants and refugees.
Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition ICE Watch Resource Hub.
Read more about it here in this Newscenter Maine article.
| Other Ways to Take Action (Courtesy of Indivisible Cumberland County: Maine’s ICE Watch Hotline Training: Get trained to field, verify, and document potential community ICE sightings and provide trusted, reliable information on ICE activity to immigrant communities. Action Alert on LD 1917: Contact Governor Mills and tell her to sign into law this bill to protect Maine’s immigrant communities, workforce, public safety, and future! Donate to the Maine Solidarity Fund: Fund pools resources from across communities into a shared fund we can draw from immediately when urgent needs arise. NO I.C.E. for Maine: Learn more about this effort to reign in ICE. |
Make Some Calls!
It’s mentioned a few times in these newsletters about calling your representatives in Washington, D.C. It’s one of the most important things we can do and it’s so easy!
Write Some Emails!
If you are more comfortable with sending emails to our Maine congressional delegation in Washington, click the links/buttons. This is a good option if you have lengthy comments or questions.
We are on Blue Sky, Instagram, and Facebook!
Follow us! Invite your friends! Comment! You’ll be glad you did!
We have an easy way to donate to Indivisible Bangor. Drop off your returnable bottles and cans to Ohio Street Redemption in Bangor and tell them to put it on the account of Indivisible Bangor. They’ll add the money to our kitty, mail out a regular check, and the money goes to our bank account to help with our expenses! You can find them here!
****Be sure the attendant writes down “Indivisible Bangor” because several donations have not been credited. Thank you!****
And you can donate here, too! Donations help pay for supplies, website, outreach, and to fund the many upcoming actions in Maine.
Thank you for all you do! – George and Indivisible Bangor
Emanuel’s Daily Call to Action:
Action Monday January 19th: Provide Testimony to Support LD 1383 Divestment from Perpetrators of International Human Rights Violations
Good Morning Folks, on a Martin Luther King Monday. One of the requests he made of us in his demand that we stay non-violent, was to hate the conditions that created the people we see as enemies, not the people themselves. Find a Martin Luther King Day celebration near you. Ps. As our list of action grows, Gmail may shorten the email. You can ask it to include the whole email, but check to make sure it is not doing this.
Top Action to Take Today:
- Provide testimony to support LD 1383 for this Wednesday’s Hearing “An Act to Require State Divestment from Perpetrators of International Human Rights Violations.” Go here to submit testimony or to sign up for the hearing. It is at 10:00 at the State and Local Government Committee. This bill prohibits Maine from investing its funds from any companies, entities, persons or financial institutions that are “associated with” a “perpetrator state”. For more details see the attachment below. The Maine Coalition for Peace and Human Rightsis responsible for this campaign, see their one page toolkit here, and write a letter to your state legislative representatives.
For more state legislation coming up this week see Abbie McMillen’s run-down attached below.
For “More Actions Today if You Have the Bandwidth” from Emanuel’s Daily Call to Action (1/19), click here.
With great appreciation for all the engagement everywhere!
As always, throw a little sand in their gears!
~~Emanuel
It’s a piece of cake to email or call with these links!
The names of our senators and representatives listed below are links that go right to their official congressional contact form pages. The telephone numbers are links that should open your phone app to call that number. It’s that easy!
Senator Angus King
DC: (202) 224-5344
Augusta: (207) 622-8292
Senator Susan Collins
DC: (202) 224-2523
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree
DC: (202) 225-6116
Portland: (207) 774-5019
Waterville: (207) 873-5713
Congressman Jared Golden
DC: (202) 225-6306
Bangor: (207) 249-7400
Caribou: (207) 492-6009
Lewiston: (207) 241-6767
Find your State Representative:
By name: Here
By district: Here
Find your State Senator:
By name: Here
By district: Here
Our government in Augusta:
Governor Janet Mills
Email Governor Mills
Call (207) 287-3531
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows
Contact Secretary Bellows
Call (207)626-8400
Attorney General Aaron M. Frey
Contact Mr. Frey
Call (207) 626-8800
Questions or comments? Contact George!
