A peaceful female protester waving an upside-down American flag outside an ICE detention center on Father’s Day was struck from behind by a car entering the facility.
The woman, an advocate from Minnesota, was taking part in a vigil outside Delaney Hall demanding the release of dads held inside the controversial 1,000-bed jail in Newark, which is run by private contractor GEO Group.
She was hit near the private vehicle entrance and sent flying to the ground. Birdie Green, a co-founder of the Sussex Visibility Brigade and an organizer of the event, told NJ.com that the woman “was not blocking vehicles, and could not see it coming.”
Green said the car belonged to a GEO Group employee driving through in a personal vehicle. The Daily Beast has approached GEO Group and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
About 75 vigil members had gathered near a hospitality tent set up by the campaign group Eyes on ICE, while 15 to 20 more protesters stood outside the north gate, according to NJ.com. Families held signs reading “Free the dads, Close the camps,” played music, and hung neck ties on a fence.
Green said ICE agents emerged soon after the crash and fired pepper spray and mace. Families at the hospitality tent had to evacuate, she said.
The vigil marked the latest flashpoint at Delaney Hall, where protesters have been clashing with federal officers and GEO Group staff for weeks.
Nearly 300 detainees have signed letters detailing complaints about rotten food and healthcare being denied, and as many as 60 have filed lawsuits alleging medical neglect and other abuses.
Federal officials deny it all. “There is no hunger strike at Delaney Hall at this time,” a DHS spokesman told NJ.com. “No detainees are being beaten or abused.”
DHS insists the unrest is a political stunt by New Jersey Democrats. The agency has previously claimed ICE “has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens,” arguing detainees were getting some of the best healthcare of their lives.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Congressional Democrats have called for the facility to be shut down. Limited state inspections have not found the conditions detainees describe.
The woman who was struck by the car is not believed to have sought medical care, NJ.com reported. The Daily Beast has also contacted Newark Police for comment.
