Only hours after Boston’s top prosecutor criticized federal immigration officials on Wednesday as “extraordinarily reckless” for detaining a man mid-trial last week, the U.S. Department of Justice responded in a series of remarkable letters and court filings.
U.S. Attorney of Massachusetts Leah Foley issued a strongly worded letter to a Boston judge who found an immigration agent in contempt of court on Monday.
“While you may disagree with the enforcement of our federal immigration laws, there is simply no legal basis for you to hold federal officers in criminal contempt for carrying out their sworn duties,” Foley wrote. “Any attempt or threat to interfere with the lawful functions of federal government agents will not be tolerated.”
Boston Municipal Court Judge Mark Summerville addresses the court room, while holding an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in contempt after he detained a suspect while he was on trial, Monday, March 31, 2025, in Boston. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP)AP
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Foley, whose office operates under the U.S. Justice Department, also said that federal officials moved to vacate the order of contempt entered against an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent by the Boston Municipal Court.
Earlier on Wednesday, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden described the situation as unprecedented when ICE apprehended a man in the middle of a trial on charges of falsifying RMV records.
Hayden said his office was investigating ICE agent Brian Sullivan after Judge Mark Summerville found him in contempt of court for interfering with the trial.
“We have a lot to go over in this case before we can determine exactly how it is we’re going to proceed,” he said.
In a separate letter addressed to Hayden, Foley strongly disagreed and called on him to “cease from entertaining or pursuing any charges” against the ICE officer or any other federal official.
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“The fact that you disfavor ICE officers doing their jobs is not a basis for criminal charges,” Foley wrote to the district attorney. She said there is “no legal basis for such charges.”
“Rather than attacking the brave men and women enforcing laws of the United States, I urge you to work with us to identify, prosecute, and remove the criminals who break them,” Foley wrote.
Wilson Martell-Lebron, the 49-year-old man who was detained, had been at the Edward W. Brooke courthouse on Thursday for his first day of trial on falsifying RMV records, when he was taken by plainclothes ICE agents outside the courthouse.
Martell-Lebron is a citizen of the Dominican Republic who entered the country illegally and has no lawful status, according to a court filing by the Department of Homeland Security.
ICE officials first found a basis to remove him in October 2007, the filing states.
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Foley said that he is in the country illegally, had prior arrests for serious drug trafficking offenses and was arrested pursuant to a valid federal warrant.
Court filings described how federal agents detained Martell-Lebron on Thursday. Sullivan, the ICE agent, was summonsed for the trial to testify and once the day’s proceedings ended, agents grabbed Martell-Lebron after he left the courthouse through a back exit.
Martell-Lebron “took a couple quick steps in the opposite direction before officers were able to seize him and make the arrest.”
This family photo provided by attorney’s shows Wilson Martell-Lebron. (Family photo/Erkan & Sullivan, PC via AP)AP
Foley said Wednesday that Sullivan and ICE’s actions were carried out lawfully.
“Our motion is clear: the state court lacked authority to issue the unlawful and erroneous order,” Foley wrote.
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She cited the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution that immunizes federal officers from state prosecution for actions taken in the course of their official duties.
At the press conference on Wednesday, Hayden criticized ICE’s operations not only with Martell-Lebron, but across the city — and revealed the alarming effect the public’s fear has had on Boston courtrooms.
“ICE routinely claims that their actions are improving public safety in Boston, and I’m here today to tell you and to say that they are doing the exact opposite,” Hayden said.
“We’re now finding witnesses reluctant to cooperate with investigators, due to fear of ICE … We are seeing victims refuse to provide information about crimes against them, due to fear of ICE,” Hayden said.
Summerville, the Boston judge, said he found ICE agent Sullivan in contempt of the court after he committed “intentional and egregious violations of the defendant’s rights” by not allowing due process and a fair trial. Summerville referred the case to the Suffolk County district attorney’s office for an investigation.
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On Monday, the judge also dismissed Martell-Lebron’s RMV case due to prosecutorial misconduct.
A Scottish man who died after collapsing outside a Boston pub while visiting for the World Cup is being remembered as a devoted soccer fan who was “Tartan Army to his core.”
Thomas Murty, known as “Tam,” died June 19 after collapsing near The Dubliner pub in downtown Boston a day earlier, according to a GoFundMe fundraising campaign to return Murty’s body to Scotland and pay for funeral expenses.Murty was born in 1963.
“Tam was Scotland daft his whole life,” the GoFundMe page reads. “He lived for it — the highs, the heartbreaks, the songs, the hope that never died no matter how many years went by. Following Scotland wasn’t just something he did; it was who he was.”
Murty had waited three decades to see Scotland play in the World Cup. Watching the Scottish team compete in the tournament was “the dream of a lifetime,” the fundraising page said.
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Oram McGonagle, who owns The Dubliner, said he was at the pub when Murty collapsed. He said he saw a Scottish fan with an oxygen tube standing by a pillar outside the building. McGonagle said employees called an ambulance when they realized he needed help.
Caitlin McLaughlin, public relations director for Boston EMS, confirmed that medics took a patient from The Dubliner to an area hospital around 4:30 p.m. that day.
McGonagle later learned from a media report that Murty had died.
The Dubliner has donated 1,000 pounds, or about $1,325, to the fundraiser.
“We had a really good few weeks with the Scottish people,” McGonagle said Monday. “This felt like a way to give some back to them.”
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Murty is the second Scottish soccer fan known to have died in Boston while visiting for the World Cup tournament. Donny Strathie, 76, died June 14 after collapsing in a hotel in Norwood. Fans paid tribute to Strathie in the 76th minute of Scotland’s game against Morocco in Foxborough on June 19.
About 2,800 people have donated more than$85,000 to the GoFundMe campaign set up for Murty’s family, as of Monday afternoon.
Ariela Lopez can be reached at ariela.lopez@globe.com. Follow her on X @ariela__lopez.
Britten partnered with the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) to bring an ambitious public-facing installation to life, celebrating Boston’s role in the global excitement surrounding the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Massport envisioned a bold experiential marketing activation at Piers Park II in East Boston, centered around a Guinness World Record attempt for the world’s largest soccer ball. The nearly 50-foot structure needed to become a highly visible waterfront landmark while meeting strict engineering, safety, and verification requirements. The challenge extended far beyond fabrication. The installation needed to withstand unpredictable coastal conditions, operate safely in a public environment, and be completed on a fixed timeline tied to FIFA fan programming.
Massport needed an experienced event production partner capable of transforming a large-scale concept into a fully engineered, installed, and record-breaking experience. Britten served as the central event fabrication partner, managing production coordination, logistics, and on-site execution from concept through completion. Working alongside Massport and engineering partners, Britten helped translate the creative vision into a buildable solution capable of meeting Guinness World Records standards. Every detail, from material selection and structural integrity to panel alignment and inflation systems, required precision to support a nearly 50-foot inflatable structure.
After off-site fabrication, Britten coordinated transportation, staging, and installation at Piers Park II. The waterfront location introduced additional challenges, including wind exposure, tidal conditions, limited staging space, and public access. Britten oversaw anchoring systems, inflation sequencing, and installation operations to ensure the soccer ball was safely deployed and successfully verified. Through close collaboration with stakeholders, engineers, and Guinness World Records officials, Britten delivered a seamless execution where creative vision, engineering expertise, and experiential marketing came together.
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The completed installation achieved official Guinness World Records recognition as the world’s largest soccer ball, measuring approximately 47.9 feet in diameter. The record-breaking brand activation transformed Piers Park II into a must-visit destination along Boston’s waterfront, creating a memorable community experience connected to the FIFA World Cup. Visible across Boston Harbor and from approaching aircraft, the installation generated widespread attention and became a recognizable symbol of Boston’s tournament celebrations.
