CBRN event in United States of America on Sun 31st May 2026

Things got out of hand around 9:30 p.m. on May 30 when a number of rogue protesters began storming barricades that the New Jersey State Police had set up around the Newark facility to prevent confrontations with ICE agents. The state police came in on Friday to set up a buffer zone around the site to calm things down after days of clashes in which ICE agents had beaten and pepper-sprayed protesters and reporters. Yet tensions remained high Saturday night as ICE operations continued at the facility. Officers and even other demonstrators implored the group of rogue protesters who rushed the barricades to stop and wait for transport vans, but the pleas fell on deaf ears. Within minutes, police forced the barricades from the street to the sidewalk. Officers then retreated, and a riot squad armed with shields entered the fray. What followed were volleys of tear gas, flash-bang grenades, smoke canisters, and rubber bullets fired at the demonstrators as the riot squad drove the crowd back along Doremus Avenue. “Move back,” officers roared, slamming them backward with heavy riot shields and batons. Some demonstrators fought back, using large traffic cones as makeshift shields in sporadic battles. They, too, were sent in retreat with pepper-spray during the confrontation. Protesters responded by throwing water bottles, rocks, and debris while chanting, “F**k ICE.” Police fired rubber pellets and pepper balls into the crowd, leaving one man lying on the grass after being struck in the groin and stomach. As officers advanced, a steady barrage of tear gas, flash-bang grenades, and smoke canisters filled the night sky. Thick smoke drifted across the roadway, engulfing protesters and journalists. Some demonstrators used traffic cones to smother smoking canisters, while others attempted to kick the devices back toward police lines. In one startling moment, the police formation later parted down the middle to give way for mounted officers, whose horses charged through the haze and into the crowd. Still, protesters raised their makeshift shields to hold them back. The confrontation eventually ended after demonstrators were pushed further down the line, where they gathered plywood and debris from the nearby train tracks and set it ablaze in the middle of the road. The fire burned for roughly 30 minutes, sending black smoke into the sky before the crowd dispersed. Amid the unrest, the Department of Homeland Security — rather than demanding calm — posted several messages on X highlighting its cooperation with local law enforcement and declaring in all capital letters, “WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN.” “With the cooperation of New Jersey state and local law enforcement, law and order will prevail. The message to rioters is clear: we will NOT tolerate rioting or assaulting law enforcement,” one post read. The message was accompanied by a clip from FNTV’s coverage and photos of an empty street. The escalating unrest prompted Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka to impose a curfew around Delaney Hall, citing public safety concerns and reports that some individuals were found in possession of weapons. The half-mile area surrounding Doremus Avenue was closed to pedestrian traffic through Sunday morning, at the least. “Due to the escalating situation at Delaney Hall and the increasing need for police intervention, immediate action is required to protect public safety. Multiple individuals have already been arrested and found in possession of weapons, underscoring the seriousness of the threat,” Baraka said. “Individuals found in violation of this curfew will be subject to enforcement actions. A warning to leave the area will be issued initially. However, any continued non-compliance will result in removal from the area and the issuance of appropriate summonses and/or further legal action,” the statement read in part. On Sunday morning, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced that visitations inside Delaney Hall would resume later on Sunday afternoon while also calling on protesters to remain peaceful. “It is critical that outside actors allow this to happen safely. I continue to call on DHS to provide appropriate care and medicine for all detainees, give detainees a meaningful opportunity to review their cases, stop pressuring detainees into signing deportation documents, be transparent about who is being held in this facility, and ultimately close this facility,” Sherrill said. “I urge everyone who shares these goals to continue working together to lower the temperature and protest peacefully – so we can continue making progress for families and detainees while avoiding any ICE escalation that would only create more fear and uncertainty in our communities.” Long after the smoke cleared, on Sunday morning, Brooklyn U.S. Rep. and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries conducted a Congressional oversight visit to Delaney Hall along with New Jersey U.S. Reps. Rob Melendez, LaMonica McIver and Josh Gottheimer. Jeffries said the quartet met with two dozen detainees and observed conditions that “shock the conscience,” including “unsanitary living conditions, lack of adequate medical care and unhealthy food.” “This is not America,” Jeffries said, while laying blame at the feet of President Donald Trump and his administration for lying to the public about the true nature of the ongoing immigration crackdown. “Donald Trump and his extreme administration promised to target violent felons who are in the country unlawfully. They lied. The violent Trump mass deportation machine has targeted American citizens and law-abiding immigrant families, including the minors, parents and pregnant women who have been detained at Delaney Hall,” Jeffries said. “Not a single detainee that I spoke with during an oversight visit that lasted more than an hour falls into the category of the worst of the worst. They were law-abiding members of their community, including several tax-paying small business owners and an 18-year old DREAMer who was ripped away from her family just months from her high school graduation.” “Delaney Hall must be shut down immediately,” he added.