Swansenreport

DHS: Portland Agitators Flew Cross-Country to Lead Newark ICE Riots — Arrests Confirm Organized Effort

The protests outside Newark’s Delaney Hall detention facility are not spontaneous outpourings of local community concern — at least not entirely. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed Sunday that federal agents have arrested individuals who flew in from Portland, Oregon specifically to participate in the clashes outside the facility.

“We’ve arrested people that came in from Portland, not from New Jersey,” Mullin said at a Dallas press conference Sunday. “Came in from Portland to lead. We’ve seen that they’ve been well-supplied.” The disclosure adds to a growing picture of organized, out-of-state involvement in what the administration has characterized as a coordinated effort to destabilize ICE enforcement operations. CNN

Two other arrests illustrate the range of conduct: New Jersey resident Brendan John Geier, 26, was arrested after allegedly kicking and biting two ICE agents. Brooklyn resident Nicholas Matthew Scelfo, 27, was arrested after facial recognition technology identified him from video of him threatening to kill an ICE agent and their family. The DOJ said Scelfo admitted to making the threats in a subsequent interview with law enforcement. CNN

Mullin said ICE officers had been “assaulted by anti-ICE rioters who sprayed law enforcement with an unknown chemical substance” during one confrontation. “Assaulting and obstructing ICE law enforcement is a crime and a felony,” he said. “Anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” NOTUS

The Portland revelation is significant context for the two-week confrontation. DHS has consistently argued the protests have “nothing to do with the conditions at the facility” — which it says include three meals a day, clean water, clothing and other resources. DHS denies any hunger strike is taking place. Attorneys for detainees say conditions include expired food, lack of medical care, and worms in meals — claims GEO Group, the private operator, disputes. UPI

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, announced Friday the formation of a protected protest zone outside the facility — a middle-ground approach allowing peaceful demonstration while establishing a clear legal perimeter for enforcement. She has also called for the facility’s closure and demanded a full New Jersey Department of Health inspection, but said inspectors were only permitted to conduct a food service review. Washington Times

The Delaney Hall standoff is now entering its third week with no clear resolution in sight — a Democratic governor enforcing a Democratic mayor’s curfew against protests her own party helped inspire, while the federal government documents out-of-state organizers with what it calls a coordinated playbook.

Sources: RedState — Mullin/Portland | ABC News — Full Timeline | NBC News — Protected Zone | Axios — Mullin Profile | CNN — Conditions Dispute