ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Arrests continue to take place outside Delaney Hall in New Jersey, but have dropped from a whopping 80 to “just three” since Newark took over law enforcement duties from ICE and the state police, its mayor says.
A series of clashes between ICE officers and protesters have been taking place outside the controversial federal immigration detention center over the past two weeks.
Homeland Security spokespeople have accused protesters of attacking ICE agents. New Jersey state authorities – who temporarily stepped in and took over policing duties from the feds – have also alleged that some demonstrators have gotten violent.
Protesters and advocates have vehemently disputed the accusations from authorities, however, claiming that ICE agents and state police have been the aggressors – and alleging there is video footage online proving it.
Meanwhile, detainees inside the prison are allegedly facing “inhumane” conditions such as a lack of medical care, worm-ridden food and an unfair court system – claims that federal and prison spokespeople have denied.
Delaney Hall formerly held immigration detainees for the federal government from 2011 to 2017 under the Obama administration, until it closed and was turned into a halfway house. The prison was the first federal detention center to reopen under the second term of President Donald Trump. Its owner, the GEO Group, is one of the largest private prison companies in the nation.
Earlier this week, the state attorney general’s office announced that state authorities are handing off primary command of the scene at Delaney Hall to the Newark Police Department. Since then, Newark has been drawing down its presence outside the prison and reopening streets to protesters.
Here’s what has been happening since then:
ARRESTS
Newark police released details about three arrests that took place in the wake of Wednesday’s protests, along with video footage from the scene.
According to police, two out-of-state residents – Thomas Alan Clemens, 30, of Oak Park, Illinois, and Aida Paige Riddle, 35, of Brooklyn – have been charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, obstruction and rioting/failure to disperse.
Clemens faces an additional charge of hindering apprehension. Riddle faces an additional charge of escape.
“The goal of Newark police is to safeguard the First Amendment rights of those who gather to protest issues they disagree with peacefully,” Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda Sr. said.
“However, when protestors become violent, striking officers, arrests have to be made to protect the officers and the public at large,” Miranda alleged.
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Another out-of-state resident – Samuel Hoffman Becker, 30, of Brooklyn – has been accused of setting a dumpster fire during last weekend’s protests. He also allegedly tried to start a second fire there on Wednesday, police said.
Becker has been charged with rioting/failure to disperse, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief.
Protesters aren’t the only people who have been accused of committing crimes amid the chaos at Delaney Hall, however.
On Thursday, the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General announced that it filed a criminal charge against a sergeant in the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office who allegedly stole a journalist’s camera equipment last weekend.
The journalist – who was covering the protests at Delaney Hall – was injured while on the job and dropped his camera bag before being taken to a hospital for treatment.
The camera bag, which contained around $10,000 worth of equipment, also contained an Apple AirTag. The photojournalist tracked the AirTag to the home of Darryl Brown, 43, in Sparta, state prosecutors said.
CITY DRAWS DOWN PRESENCE
Baraka gave an update on the city’s plan to scale back its presence at Delaney Hall on Thursday. The mayor wrote:
“For the past year, advocates have peacefully assembled at Delaney Hall with discipline, purpose, and unwavering commitment. That commitment was disrupted on Memorial Day, when a sharp and troubling shift occurred. ICE increased its presence and engaged protesters in ways that escalated tensions and led to unnecessary confrontation.
“Since the city stepped in, we have worked to restore calm and uphold our values. As a result of our involvement, arrests have dropped dramatically, from 80 to just three. We have accomplished this without the use of force, tear gas, or aggressive policing. The Newark Police Division has remained focused on de-escalation and ensuring protests remain peaceful.
“We must also be clear about the limits of the city’s role. It is not the responsibility of the Newark Police Division to secure a private facility. We have made clear to the GEO Group, who has its own private security firm, that securing their facility is their responsibility, not the city’s. Our intention was never to protect Delaney Hall or HSI but to bring calm. It is a clear contradiction to the city's position with GEO Group to remain there.
“Therefore, we will not continue to spend resourced and tax dollars in an already strapped budget to safeguard a privately-owned facility, especially when it places our officers at unnecessary risk. Nor will we ask our officers to engage in practices that contradict our values of fairness, restraint, and respect for human rights.
“Given the significant reduction in unrest, the city will begin scaling back its presence at Delaney Hall. After tonight, the NPD will focus on traffic management and public safety, ensuring the protection of both protesters and motorists.
“We urge all protesters to remain peaceful so that attention remains focused on the urgent health and safety needs of detainees and the closing of Delaney Hall.”
‘RADICAL HOSPITALITY’ TENT TRASHED
While the extreme actions of some demonstrators have dominated news highlights, others continue to peacefully call for change at Delaney Hall.
Some protesters have been helping family members who come to visit their loved ones by running aid stations and giving them food and water, clothes to meet the prison’s dress code and diapers for their kids – a form of “radical hospitality” for those impacted by the latest immigration crackdown.
But even that gesture hasn’t escaped the chaos of the past few weeks, advocates say.
On Tuesday, Pax Christi New Jersey reported that the Radical Hospitality tent had been “ransacked” by federal authorities. Items like an electric cooler, an electric fan, diapers and herbal tea were missing. Many of the flyers that were posted to the bulletin board were removed, and everything from prayer cards to children's toys were strewn across the floor.
“We needed gloves to handle many of the items in the tent because they were contaminated with either tear gas or pepper spray,” the advocacy group said.
“However, the tent is not beloved because of the things inside,” Pax Christi New Jersey spokespeople added. “It is beloved because it is a symbol of the love of the community that has grown up around it that includes visitors, volunteers, and the people in detention. That community still stands strong.”
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