On Saturday night, members of Antifa set a fire near a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Newark, New Jersey, leading to an outbreak of violence before they were ultimately cleared from the area.
According to reports, chaos unfolded when the state’s Democratic governor directed local police to contain the rioters, and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin managed to assert control over the situation.
Video clips captured by Nick Sauter showed a bonfire in the street with masked individuals nearby, as rioters crowded the roadway. Another footage revealed Antifa protesters forming a line with shields, chanting “fascists!” as they advanced into the area.
Meanwhile, ICE shared several images of detainees at Delaney Hall along with records of their backgrounds.
State police began to disperse the protesters on Friday, signaling a breach of the lockdown. Mullin described this as a “victory for law and order,” highlighting that Governor Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) had previously hesitated to support state law enforcement but had since changed her stance.
The article continued to note: Sherrill encountered significant pressure from leftist groups to back the lockdown, partly due to the state’s large population of undocumented immigrants relying on welfare, which is beneficial for the state’s Democratic political interests.
Democrats characterized the removal of Antifa as a measure for security. “To ensure the safety of all involved, including the largely peaceful protesters outside Delaney Hall, state police have temporarily cleared the area,” stated New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport in a midnight announcement.
Sherrill noted that there had been violence outside the facility on Sunday, and called for further law enforcement support to protect both neighbors and officers present. She emphasized, “While we don’t really know why these individuals resorted to violence or what they aimed to achieve, we won’t let these dangerous acts undermine New Jersey’s commitment to public safety, safeguarding individuals from ICE, and ensuring humane treatment for those detained at Delaney Hall.”
More video footage illustrated the disorder outside the facility, depicting Antifa members wielding makeshift orange shields and approaching mounted police closely.
Early Sunday morning, DHS reported observing a mostly vacant area, stating that the insurgents would not deter their efforts. The space surrounding Delaney Hall had been fully secured, and no rioters had breached the perimeter the previous night.
Meanwhile, Democratic leaders described immigrants in the facility as victims and have called for Delaney Hall to be shut down.
On Friday, protesters expressed their anger over the failure of a well-organized and well-funded campaign against ICE and state police, as well as the arrests of some demonstrators.
