Activist hospitalized after being pushed to ground at Meriden courthouse
Sep 23, 2026·Location: Meriden, CT

Madeline Gallagher, a rapid response team member who had joined the volunteer group a month earlier, was pushed to the ground by a courthouse security staffer during a confrontation between activists and ICE agents at the Meriden courthouse. Other rapid response team members said they witnessed Gallagher briefly lose consciousness after her fall, and she was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital. Gallagher said she was motivated to volunteer because "mothers [are] being taken away from their children." The incident occurred as ICE agents detained at least one man at the courthouse, an operation that raised questions about compliance with Connecticut's Trust Act, which limits immigration enforcement at courthouses and bans masked law enforcement.
Sources
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