Protesters Arrested At Gov. Baker's Swampscott Home

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — The latest protest at Gov. Charlie Baker's Swampscott home Thursday morning led to the arrests of four people, including a Salem man, Cambridge man, Somerville man and a Newton woman.

Protesters from a group called Jews against Fascism descended on Baker's home and shouted with bullhorns. Police said the four people were arrested around 7:30 a.m. when they refused to comply with orders not to step on private property.

"Troopers repeatedly requested that protesters not trespass onto or block private property," Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Precopio said. "Four (people) refused to comply with the repeated requests."

The four were charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing. They were transported to the state police barracks in Revere for booking. They were identified as Scott Sternberg, 61, of Salem; Lily Gomberg, 22, of Newton; Joel Greenberg, 30, of Cambridge; and Sean Donaghy, 28, of Somerville.

A spokesperson for the protest group said the protesters were arrested while standing "in the first three feet of the driveway" and that remaining protesters moved back and sang as the four were arrested. She said the group dispersed when "more police arrived with a transport van."

"To be clear, we were standing in front of the governor's residence for only 20 minutes," said Rae Axner, one of the protesters present in Swampscott, in a group statement. "We were asking for Baker to come out and talk to us about protecting immigrants. We didn't expect to be arrested just for trying to talk to the governor, but Massachusetts immigrants also can't expect whether they will be arrested or detained on any given day, just for driving to work or to school."

The group is seeking Baker to take a stronger stance on protection for immigrants, including the ability to obtain a driver's license in the state.

"The fact that my sister, who was standing right next to me, was arrested and I was not, is as arbitrary as the deportation and detention experienced by undocumented people in (Massachusetts) and across the country," said Maya Gomberg, who identified herself as Lily Gomberg's sister, in a statement from the group.

Procopio said no further details on the arrests will be released.

While protests at Baker's Monument Avenue home are not new, they have become increasingly contentious in recent weeks, with a Boston man receiving a civil stay-away order after he was accused of dropping syringes on the property as part of a protest about the "Methadone Mile" in Boston.

Last month, police said a Danvers man broke into Baker's home while his wife and daughter were home and left a letter for the governor.

There have also been ongoing protests in Swampscott between Black Lives Matter supporters and pro-President Donald Trump supporters. Parents last week built what they called a "Line of Love" to shuttle elementary school students through to protect children from what they said was often profanity-laced shouting.