On January 24, 2026, ICE agents fired paintball-like projectiles at vehicles driven by citizen observers monitoring immigration enforcement activity in a Home Depot parking lot in South Portland, Maine, striking at least two to three vehicles. The incident was part of a broader surge in ICE enforcement operations in Maine that began the week of January 20, 2026. In response, a South Portland resident filed a notice of claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act on February 1, 2026, seeking $7.5 million in damages and alleging that federal agents violated his constitutional rights by threatening to arrest him for observing ICE activity and exercising his First Amendment right to film enforcement operations. Additional reports indicate agents also followed other observers home and labeled at least one person a "domestic terrorist."