Trantifa militant who threw knife at federal agent sentenced to just 3 years’ probation in Portland

Winters was sentenced Friday before US District Court Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai in Oregon. The defendant pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of intimidating a federal officer. As a result, the attempted assault on a federal officer charge was dismissed. Winters was sentenced to three years of supervised release, as well as credit for time served after spending just a few months in custody following the brazen attack. This was the sentencing recommendation given by Assistant US Attorney Lewis Burkhart, who described Winters to the Court as a "violent" individual who "rages against law enforcement" and has affiliations with Antifa, a designated terror group.

The incident occurred on June 24 during the Antifa-affiliated occupation at the ICE facility located at 4310 SW Macadam Avenue, which came under siege by black-clad militants for five consecutive months. Winters' attack was captured on surveillance and bystander videos.

According to an FBI affidavit, FPS officers observed Winters approach the ICE facility gate at 11:15 pm, where an incendiary device was ignited just moments after. When officers approached Winters, the defendant reached into his backpack and pulled out a large 1-foot knife with a curved blade.

Julie Mikela Winters approached federal officers with a knife. Courtesy: FBI affidavit

Winters proceeded to advance on federal officers with the blade in hand. "As officers attempted to get tactically positioned, Winters threw the knife at one of the officers' heads," court documents state. The targeted officer was able to dodge the attack.

The defendant proceeded to flee but was subdued by an officer who deployed a Taser. When federal agents attempted to place Winters in custody, Winters resisted arrest and reached toward his waist in an attempt to pull out a second deadly weapon. "One officer saw Winters grab another knife," which resulted in the officer kicking the weapon away from Winters, according to the FBI affidavit. The second knife was described as a kitchen butcher knife.

Winters was apprehended and transported to a holding cell at the ICE facility. Federal agents conducted an operation to retrieve the two knives, which were both recovered at the scene of the crime. The machete that was thrown in an attempt to impale an officer in the head was located on the property of an elementary school adjacent to the facility.

Photo taken from a bystander video shows that a subdued Winters was in possession of another knife

Photo evidence of knife #1, which was thrown at an officer's head. Courtesy: FBI affidavit

During Winters' initial arraignment in June, Judge Youlee Yim You ordered his release from custody pending trial. However, Winters violated the conditions of release by returning to the area of the ICE facility, which he was prohibited from doing, and was remanded to jail in late August. When federal officers moved to take Winters into custody for violating release conditions, Winters allegedly assaulted several US Marshals. Despite the ongoing violence against police officers, the Court allowed Winters to be released from custody, again, after claiming mental health issues weeks later. The US Attorney's Office strongly objected to his release.

"The defendant is untethered from reality," wrote Burkhart in a sentencing memorandum obtained by The Post Millennial. "When she went to the ICE building, armed herself with multiple knives, attempted to shield her identity by wearing a mask, and responded to law enforcement's confrontation with her by brandishing a large knife. There is nothing about her actions that suggests she was attempting to protect anyone. Rather, she appears to be a violent person, as almost every encounter with law enforcement solely surrounds violent and threatening behavior."

Winters, who lived in an apartment building near the ICE facility, told the Court that he arrived outside the facility to "protect" his community from ICE agents, whom he has repeatedly referred to as "Nazis" on social media and suggested should be killed, according to court documents.

The defendant "is someone out looking for a violent confrontation, claims a loose association with Antifa, or as she said in one of her social media posts, ‘a f*cking Jihad needs to begin and we need to make it happen.’ These are claims of someone that is either seeking a violent revolution or, more likely, someone dealing with significant mental health issues," Burkhart wrote, detailing his frustration that Winters has not yet undergone a court-mandated mental health evaluation, which he described as a threat to the public.

Burkhart told the Court that Winters refuses to complete a psychological examination and puts on a "fake persona" during court proceedings to make it appear that he has been complying with conditions mandated by the Court. The federal prosecutor told Judge Kasubhai that Winters has all the markers of having "borderline personality disorder" and lives an "isolated life," which includes spending excessive hours on social media, where Winters continues making threats towards federal officers.

Winters is "someone that rages against law enforcement and fights violently against them whenever confronted," said Burkhart, who asked the Court to impose a set of conditions that included prohibiting Winters from discussing ICE or any other law enforcement agency on the internet, monitoring his internet activity, and completing a mental health evaluation by January 16, 2026. Judge Kasubhai granted the request. Winters is also prohibited from returning to the ICE facility and possessing weapons.

Winters has a history of violence, including against police officers, as detailed in previous arrests and convictions that include disorderly conduct, false reporting, assault on a police officer, and DUI. Just days before the knife attack, Winters allegedly sent threatening messages to North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer's office on June 9 that detailed his desire to kill the lawmaker by hanging, and suggested that all Republicans must die, according to court documents.

Winters is among the 40-plus defendants being prosecuted by the US Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon for alleged attacks committed at the Portland ICE facility since June.