DA drops charges against protesters arrested at Burlington ICE facility

The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office dropped the charges against two protesters arrested at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Burlington in 2025.

Trespassing charges against Nathan Phillips, 58, of Newton, and Nastasia Lawton-Sticklor, 42, of Leominster were dropped on Thursday, six days before their trial was set to begin, court documents show. The dropped charges were first reported by WBUR.

“The Commonwealth states that although the charges were appropriately brought, it has determined that it is in the interest of justice not to go forward with a criminal prosecution at this time,” a court document announcing the dismissal of charges said. “Should circumstances change, the Commonwealth reserves the right to bring the case again.”

Officials did not share a more detailed reason for why the charges were dropped.

On Sept. 12, 2025, Phillips and Lawton-Sticklor were trying to deliver food to the detainees at the facility and were arrested when they would allegedly not leave after being told outside food was not accepted at ICE facilities, according to court documents.

Phillips and Lawton-Sticklor chose to go to trial and not make a deal with prosecutors as a way to raise awareness about the controversial ICE facility, WBUR reported. State and local officials have called out the “abysmal” conditions and lawyers have called the facility inhospitable and overcrowded as some detainees sleep on concrete floors.

Witnesses were set to include a woman who could speak to the “unsafe living conditions” she experienced while in the facility and Robert Murray, who owns the building where the Burlington ICE Field Office is located, court documents show.

The office of Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Phillips’ attorney, Kylah Clay, did not respond to requests for comment Monday night. Lawton-Sticklor was representing herself, court documents show.