A woman accused of throwing a knife at a federal officer outside an immigration building in South Portland and later fighting with U.S. marshals while in custody should not be released because she is still a “flat-out danger,” a federal prosecutor said Thursday.
Julie Mikela Winters, 47, was rearrested last month for violating court orders by returning to her apartment across from the ICE building, according to testimony.
Winters’ current placement with male inmates is negatively impacting her mental health, according to her lawyer, Jonathan C. Ogden. Winters is a transgender woman.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Armistead denied the release request, citing the two cases filed against her.
“The court is deeply concerned about the conditions that transgender women face.” “The conditions in jail or prison for someone with mental health issues give the court extreme pause,” Armistead said. “Nevertheless, I don’t see at this point any other option but continued detention.”
Winters was initially arrested in June, accused of waving and then throwing a butcher knife at a federal officer outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building. According to Assistant US Attorney Lewis Burkhart, the officers approached her after noticing she had set off an illegal firework near the front gate around 11:15 p.m. on June 24.
The knife missed an officer by about two to three feet, he stated.
Winters is accused of attempting to assault a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon, as well as intimidating a federal officer during the encounter.
She was released in July pending trial, but was arrested again when she returned to her apartment across the street from the ICE building and did not stay at the nonprofit transitional housing facility as ordered. She was rearrested on August 20 after reporting to her pretrial officer in response to a summons, according to the prosecutor and her defense attorney.
“It was quite shocking the way things went down,” said Ogden, her attorney. “Five marshals arrive and take Ms. Winters to the ground. I watched her scream. She’s bleeding from the face and begs for assistance.”
Later that day, Winters fought with deputy marshals in a holding cell, according to Burkhart.
According to Burkhart’s detention memo, the marshals intervened after she attempted to harm herself in the holding cell and began “kicking and flailing” at them. She later grabbed a marshal by the hair and began whipping her around, he claimed.
Winters is now facing new allegations of assaulting a federal officer and resisting arrest.
“She has this rage against authority and it’s getting worse,” Burkhart told me.
According to court records, Capitol Police are also looking into whether Winters sent an email to U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., on June 9, calling him a white supremacist and threatening to hang him with a rope and a “4×4.”
The IP address was traced back to a T-Mobile phone number in Winters’ mother’s name, which she claimed was hers during an arrest in Portland in December, Burkhart said. Winters has faced no charges in connection with the email investigation.
