Federal agents have had enough of the mob scene outside Newark’s Delaney Hall immigration detention center.
Agitators blocking government vehicles and screaming death threats at ICE officers just found out there are real consequences for that kind of behavior.
And the arrests caught on video are only the beginning of what’s coming for those who thought they could assault federal law enforcement and walk away clean.
Rioters Arrested on Camera as ICE Vehicles Fight Through the Crowd
Video captured the moments anti-ICE agitators were arrested outside Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, during riotous confrontations, as the chaotic scene unfolded when a caravan of cars rushed out of the immigrant detention center while agitators blocked them.
Cars pushed through the crowd, hitting at least one person as agitators continued banging, kicking and blocking government vehicles. Nobody forced these people into the road. They planted themselves there on purpose.
Agitators could be heard shouting, “Let’s go coward,” “F— you,” “Are you proud of yourself a——” and “quit your f—— job.” An agent directly addressed one agitator, saying, “What did you say? You’re going to kill me?” before appearing to detain the person.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Fox News Digital that ICE officers arrested four rioters for assault of law enforcement officers, obstruction and threats, and that New Jersey authorities also arrested a rioter who broke a car windshield.
“Assaulting and obstructing ICE law enforcement is a crime and felony,” Mullin said. “Anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. RIOTERS will not slow us down and ICE operations remain undeterred.”
The Mayor Pulled the Cops. Then Things Got Ugly.
Here’s the part that deserves more attention than it’s getting.
The night of violence followed a decision by Newark Mayor Ras Baraka to remove law enforcement resources from outside Delaney Hall. Pull the cops, and you get what happened next. That’s not a coincidence.
Baraka tried to dress it up in a statement. “ICE increased its presence and engaged protesters in ways that escalated tensions and led to unnecessary confrontation,” Baraka wrote. “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.”
Removing the police brought calm. Sure it did.
Mullin wasn’t buying the spin. “It wasn’t that the state police and local law enforcement didn’t want to help. They just were told not to help,” Mullin said. “We see over and over again in these sanctuary cities and sanctuary states where law enforcement officers, they want to do their job. That’s why they signed up to do their job.” Mullin further accused left-wing leaders of misleading the public by portraying some demonstrators as peaceful.
And what was happening on the ground told a very different story than “peaceful protest.”
Video obtained by Fox News Digital shows agitators shouting, “Kill yourself, bro!” and “How do you live with yourself?” while tossing mattresses and other objects at agents.
The DOJ is searching for an anti-ICE agitator who allegedly threatened to kill a federal agent’s family outside the New Jersey detention center. That’s not protesting. That’s threatening to murder a man’s children because he showed up to work.
Speaking with Fox News, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said, “That’s a federal crime, and not only threatening the ICE officer but think about how disgusting this individual is, threatening his family and his children with death. What is this man doing? He’s just doing his job, standing there. We see his face, and I promise you, we will find him, and when we find him, we will arrest him because it is a crime not only to threaten law enforcement but, not surprisingly, to threaten their family as well.”
DHS Had a Number That Should Shock Everyone
“This violent rioter who allegedly threatened to murder an ICE law enforcement officer and his family is being brought to justice,” Mullin said. “Our ICE officers are facing an 8,000% increase in death threats against them as they put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists. Our officers have been assaulted, doxxed, their families threatened. This violence against law enforcement must end.”
Eight thousand percent. Read that again.
These are federal officers doing a job that Congress authorized and that the American people voted to see carried out. They’re not storm troopers. They’re law enforcement agents who go home to families at the end of a shift — assuming they get there in one piece.
At the protest site, individuals appeared to be operating coordinated supply and support stations outside the detention facility just hours before violence erupted, according to video reviewed by Fox News Digital. The stations appeared to contain what looked like tactical gear and other equipment, including helmets, hard hats, face coverings, masks, gloves, duct tape, medical supplies, food and water.
That’s not spontaneous outrage. That’s an organized operation dressed up as a grassroots protest.
Baraka’s History With Delaney Hall
This isn’t Mayor Baraka’s first run-in with the facility. A federal trespassing charge against him was later dismissed by U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, who was nominated by President Donald Trump. Despite that arrest, Baraka was reelected by constituents recently, winning more than 50% of the vote.
So the mayor who pulled the cops and got arrested at the facility won reelection anyway. That tells you something about where Newark’s political leadership stands on federal immigration enforcement — and it isn’t standing with the ICE officers who got punched, kicked, and bitten while trying to do their jobs.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin denied the accusations that detainees are being mistreated, telling Fox News that they are being provided “a safe place to stay, and food, and a place to sleep.” He characterized criticism of the conditions inside Delaney Hall as “political theater.”
Mullin also said that no health violations have been found in the Delaney Hall immigration detention center. But that finding hasn’t stopped the protests, the threats, or the politicians who keep showing up with cameras and talking points.
What Happens Next
“Peaceful protest doesn’t translate to violently attacking federal law enforcement officers,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Federal officers are protecting United States’ property and facilities. With virtually no local law enforcement support from New Jersey, rioters are regrouping and attacking. We will not tolerate the vicious attacks we have seen in Newark the last few days, and we will make arrests and hold people accountable for criminal conduct.”
Mullin also put sanctuary cities on notice. Mullin signaled that the department has contingency plans to pull Customs and Border Protection officers if local leaders refuse to provide resources to control the violent riots outside Delaney Hall in Newark. “Since the state police and the local police says they don’t have the resources to build a respond, then we’re going to have to get our resources from someplace else, because we’re going to protect our men and women that work for us,” Mullin said. CBP officers could be pulled from their current posts at international airports to serve as backup.
Pull CBP from Newark’s international airport, and suddenly the city’s political leaders have a very different problem on their hands. Mullin knows that. The rioters who thought they could shut down federal operations in New Jersey are learning something the hard way: ICE isn’t going anywhere, the arrests are piling up, and the people who organized those supply stations full of helmets and duct tape are going to have some explaining to do in federal court.
The left spent years screaming that immigration enforcement was cruel and unconstitutional. Now they’ve moved from chanting to blocking government vehicles and threatening to kill officers’ children. There’s a name for that. It’s not protest.
Sources: Fox News Digital; NBC News; CBS News New York; Washington Times; U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs; Axios; DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin statements via X