Police charged several protestors who attempted to interfere with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in New York City by hurling objects at vehicles and screaming obscenities at authorities.
The New York Police Department confirmed that it has charged 18 protestors that it had taken into custody, CBS News reported.
On Saturday, the protestors attempted to stop ICE agents from leaving a parking garage near Centre and Howard Streets in lower Manhattan. The demonstrators were reportedly trying to stop immigration enforcement operations on Canal Street.
At one point, at least 100 protestors used their bodies to create a human barrier outside of the parking garage, according to CBS.
ICE Public Affairs Assistant Director Emily Covington told The Christian Post that a social media post had informed protestors about the agents’ location.
According to Covington, the agitators who responded to the social media call to action dressed in black clothing and wore facemasks and goggles. The NYPD arrived after the protestors obstructed federal law enforcement officers by blocking the parking garage.
“We are grateful for the NYPD officers that responded to these violent agitators and stopped the lawlessness that ensued,” Covington added.
Video footage shared on social media shows anti-ICE protestors clashing with NYPD officers and attempting to block traffic. Fox News reported that protestors also placed potted plants in the road to stop ICE vehicles, in addition to throwing trash at officers and screaming profanity at them.
Anti-ICE demonstrators also threw trash cans and recycling bins at officers, according to Fox News. Regarding the protest on Saturday, the NYPD said that the demonstrators ignored repeated requests to disperse.
“We will never apologize for enforcing the law and removing criminal illegal aliens including murderers, pedophiles, rapists, gang members, and terrorists from our communities,” Covington said. “We won’t let violent rioters slow us down and anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The spokeswoman added that ICE officers are facing a 1,150% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats as they conduct immigration enforcement operations.
“When individuals broadcast the location of ICE, they are putting a target on the backs of officers,” she said.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security highlighted an attack against U.S. Border Patrol agents in the Chicago neighborhood of Little Village. A crowd of people boxed the agents into a street and alleyway, the DHS said, and, as the agents were in the middle of apprehending a suspect, a male driving a black Jeep Wrangler fired multiple rounds.
The crowd also damaged Border Patrol vehicles by throwing paint cans and bricks from the roofs, according to the DHS. Later, two drivers attempted to interfere with immigration enforcement operations as the Border Patrol convoy proceeded toward an FBI facility.
One of the drivers was later arrested for attempting to ram the convoy after ignoring warnings to stop. After reaching the FBI facility, the agents received help from Chicago police in securing the perimeter after rioters attempted to breach security, DHS reported.
The agents encountered protestors again later near 26th and Pulaski, who ignored orders to disperse and threw objects at them. Authorities eventually arrested eight U.S. citizens and one illegal alien, according to the DHS.
In October, the DHS reported that it has “credible intelligence” that Mexican criminal networks are working with Chicago street gangs and groups like Antifa “to monitor, harass, and assassinate federal agents.”
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
