FITCHBURG — A federal judge in Maine has ordered the release of the woman whose ICE arrest during a traffic stop on Kimball Street in Fitchburg last week went viral after bystander videos showed her husband appearing to convulse while holding their toddler in their SUV.
Juliana Milena Ojeda Montoya, 24, filed a habeas corpus petition shortly after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained her on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. The Ecuadorian national — also referred to in court documents as Juliana Milena Zapata and Juliana Milena Ojeda-Montoya — was taken to the Cumberland County Jail in Maine following her arrest.
Boston.com reported that, in her order Monday, Judge Stacey D. Neumann agreed with Ojeda Montoya’s claim “that her current detention without an opportunity to be heard violates her rights to due process.”
On Monday, the judge ordered Ojeda Montoya’s immediate release from ICE and set a Nov. 14 deadline for both sides to submit briefs on whether the Laken Riley Act — which mandates detention of unauthorized immigrants charged with certain offenses — applies in her case.
Judge Neumann noted in her ruling that, “Although the Court does not dispute that the allegations underlying Ms. Ojeda Montoya’s state criminal case are serious, that in and of itself does not implicate the Laken Riley Act.”
The judge also referenced Ojeda Montoya’s family circumstances, writing that she “has a young daughter at home whom she needs to breastfeed and a husband who recently suffered an acute medical episode, seemingly as a result of ICE agents’ actions. Those factors alone weigh in favor of a finding of extraordinary circumstances.”
According to the DHS, the couple, both Ecuadorian nationals, entered the United States without authorization in 2023 from Mexico near Lukeville, Arizona. Judge Neumann’s order noted that an immigration court released Ojeda Montoya on bond that March and that she has a pending asylum claim and valid work authorization.
Homeland Security officials said Ojeda Montoya was targeted for arrest because of an altercation in August involving a coworker. According to Leominster police, Ojeda Montoya allegedly attacked a female colleague at Affordable Interior Systems on Tucker Drive in Leominster, stabbing her with scissors and throwing a trash can at her during a dispute over inappropriate text messages she believed the woman had exchanged with her husband. At the time, Ojeda Montoya was identified in police records as Juliana M. Zapata of Fitchburg. Ojeda Montoya was arrested on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault with a dangerous weapon. Court documents show Ojeda Montoya was arraigned in Leominster District Court on Aug. 4, 2025, released on personal recognizance, and ordered to stay away from the alleged victim. A pretrial hearing was scheduled for Sept. 9.
The altercation and subsequent charges were later cited by federal authorities to justify Ojeda-Montoya’s detention, even though she had been out on bail and compliant with her court conditions for more than three months before ICE conducted the traffic stop in Fitchburg on Nov. 6.
Federal officials disputed claims that the husband experienced a genuine medical emergency.
In reply to U.S. Senator Ed Markey’s Nov. 7 post on X, in which he shared the video and wrote, “You are about to see harrowing footage of a father in Fitchburg, MA being brutalized by masked ICE agents while holding his terrified, crying baby. The Trump admin and every ICE agent who terrorizes our communities must be held to account for their inhumane, illegal actions,” the Department of Homeland Security responded, “Imagine FAKING a seizure to help a criminal escape justice.”
Imagine FAKING a seizure to help a criminal escape justice.
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) November 7, 2025
The target of this operation, Juliana Milena Ojeda-Montoya, is the WORST OF THE WORST.
In August 2025, local police arrested Ojeda-Montoya, a criminal illegal alien from Ecuador, for assault and battery with a…
Ojeda Montoya’s husband, Carlos Sebastian Zapata, told The Boston Globe he lost consciousness and had “convulsions” after agents pressed on his neck during the traffic stop.
In a statement, ACLU of Maine attorney Max Brooks said, “We are grateful that the court ordered Juliana’s release, given the exceptional circumstances present in her case. She is now reunited with her daughter, who has suffered immensely from ICE’s unlawful and brutal actions. We will continue to fight for the due process she and all immigrants deserve.”