A series of lawsuits have been filed against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in Maine, accusing the agency of illegally tracking and intimidating legal observers, particularly those involved with immigration protests. The lawsuits claim that DHS utilized surveillance technology to monitor activists and threatened to classify some observers as ‘domestic terrorists’. Residents have expressed concerns about the impact of federal surveillance on their communities, stressing the need for protection against these tactics aimed at intimidating citizens exercising their First Amendment rights.