Federal agents were forced to step in and arrest at least two anti ICE agitators outside the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, New Jersey, Friday night, after the protesters turned a so called “peaceful demonstration” into a scene of chaos and confrontation that quickly spiraled out of control.

Videos from the night show angry mobs surrounding ICE vehicles, blocking exits, and shouting obscenities at federal officers trying to do their jobs.

The agitators attempted to physically stop cars from leaving the facility, using makeshift barricades like wooden pallets and mattresses to keep ICE agents from carrying out routine operations.

Some demonstrators even banged on the vehicles, kicked doors, and prevented movement while shouting phrases like “Let’s go coward” and other profanity-laced insults that left little doubt about the mob’s intentions.

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As the agents tried to disperse the crowd and push the agitators back, the situation turned violent.

Witnesses say pepper spray was deployed, and several protesters were detained after they ignored repeated orders to move back.

Caught on camera was one particularly intense exchange where an ICE agent challenged a protester directly, asking, “What did you say? You’re going to kill me?” moments before taking the agitator into custody.

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The mayhem came just one day after Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a far left Democrat well known for his anti ICE stunts, announced that the city’s police department would no longer provide security outside the federal detention facility.

Baraka’s order took effect Friday, leaving ICE agents to handle an increasingly hostile situation with minimal local law enforcement presence.

Baraka defended his decision in a lengthy statement full of political spin and finger pointing.

“ICE increased its presence and engaged protesters in ways that escalated tensions,” he claimed, suggesting that federal officers were somehow to blame for the chaos.

Then he added, “It is not the responsibility of the Newark Police Division to secure a private facility.”

In other words, the mayor pulled the cops and told federal agents to fend for themselves.

His message dripped with self justification.

“We will not continue to spend resources and tax dollars in an already strapped budget to safeguard a privately owned facility,”

Baraka wrote, lecturing that his city’s “values of fairness, restraint and respect for human rights” prevented police from assisting ICE.

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Convenient words from a man who, just a year earlier, was arrested for trespassing when he stormed the same facility alongside other Democrat politicians.

Yes, the very same Mayor Baraka was handcuffed in May 2025 alongside New Jersey lawmakers LaMonica McIver, Bonnie Watson Coleman, and Rob Menendez after they attempted to breach Delaney Hall.

Federal agents detained him for five hours before charging him with trespassing.

Baraka’s lawyers whined that he was only “exercising his First Amendment rights” and acted with “calm and dignity”, though the footage from that day painted a far different picture.

Despite his arrest, Baraka managed to keep his political career alive, winning reelection last month with just over half of the vote.

It seems in Newark, radical activism is rewarded more than maintaining law and order. What happened Friday is what naturally follows when city leadership sides with agitators instead of upholding public safety.

Without local police on hand, ICE agents faced open hostility from a crowd that felt emboldened.

The so called “protesters” didn’t stop at blocking cars; they hurled objects, ignored commands, and created conditions that could have easily ended in serious injury or worse.

The fact that federal officers were able to control the mob and prevent greater harm is a credit to their professionalism and calm under pressure.

New Jersey’s left wing establishment has increasingly treated ICE as the enemy while giving free rein to activists who oppose immigration enforcement at every turn.

Baraka’s withdrawal order practically invited confrontation.

It sent a message that the city would look the other way while radicals disrupted federal operations with physical intimidation.

The Department of Homeland Security has yet to issue a formal statement on the Friday night chaos.

But the videos widely circulating online make the situation clear.

This was not peaceful protest, it was mob behavior targeting federal law enforcement officers trying to do their jobs.

The agitators’ chants, profanity, and violent gestures offered a disturbing snapshot of how far some on the left will go to obstruct immigration law.

It is no surprise that left wing activists in Newark were quick to claim victory afterward, boasting that their “resistance” showed power against ICE.

Yet the only tangible result was arrests, confrontation, and more evidence that progressive city leaders are willing to turn a blind eye to lawlessness whenever it serves their political agenda.

Federal law enforcement cannot operate safely under such conditions for long.

When local leaders refuse cooperation, it puts both officers and citizens at risk.

The events at Delaney Hall show what happens when political grandstanding replaces basic governance.

Federal agents are left holding the line against activists who seem to believe that breaking the law is their right as long as they oppose ICE.

As national attention grows, conservatives are demanding accountability for city officials who abandon cooperation with federal authorities.

Many are calling Baraka’s move reckless and irresponsible, arguing that politics should never outweigh the safety of officers or the rule of law.

Whether Washington will step in to ensure federal operations are protected remains to be seen, but it is clear Newark’s leadership has made its priorities known, and public safety is not one of them.

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