Newark, NJ — New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said Friday that protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center have been “overwhelmingly peaceful,” even as federal authorities continue to investigate recent confrontations that led to arrests and allegations of assaults on law enforcement officers.
In a statement released by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, Davenport said New Jersey State Police intervened to ensure vehicles could safely exit the Newark facility and emphasized that most demonstrators complied with police requests.
“Most people gathered outside the facility complied with State Police’s requests to clear a pathway to secure the safe passage of the vehicles,” Davenport said.
The attorney general acknowledged that a small number of individuals engaged in dangerous behavior.
“A limited number did not comply with repeated requests to clear a safe passage for the vehicles and took dangerous actions, including deploying fireworks and throwing gas canisters at law enforcement, that put everyone in harm’s way,” Davenport said.
Despite those incidents, Davenport characterized the larger demonstrations as peaceful and said authorities remain committed to protecting both public safety and the right to protest.
“To ensure the safety of everyone involved, including the overwhelmingly peaceful protesters at the facility, State Police temporarily cleared the area outside Delaney Hall,” she said.
The statement comes amid growing political tensions surrounding Delaney Hall, a federal immigration detention facility that has become a focal point for protests against immigration enforcement policies.
Federal authorities have recently announced criminal charges against at least one protester. Brendan John Geier, 26, of Madison, New Jersey, was charged with assaulting federal officers after prosecutors alleged he kicked officers and bit two ICE officers during a confrontation outside the facility. According to federal court documents, both officers received medical treatment following the incident.
The attorney general’s statement highlights a distinction increasingly drawn by state officials: while condemning acts of violence and property damage, they maintain that the vast majority of demonstrators have exercised their constitutional rights peacefully.
The comments also place New Jersey’s top law enforcement official at odds with some federal officials, who have emphasized recent assaults on officers and described certain participants as violent rioters.
Delaney Hall has become one of the most closely watched immigration-related protest sites in the country, attracting activists, elected officials, federal law enforcement personnel, and counter-protesters as the debate over immigration detention continues to intensify.