Trump Supporters, Proud Boys Crash Anti-ICE Protest In New Jersey

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A rally in support of ICE and President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown took place at Delaney Hall in Newark last weekend, drawing attendance from local MAGA boosters and members of the Proud Boys.

Delaney Hall is the first federal detention center to open under Trump’s second term. The prison has seen a wave of controversy since then, including allegations of poor treatment of detainees and visitors, federal charges against the city’s mayor and a U.S. congresswoman, a high-profile prison escape, and a detainee who died in federal custody. Its owner, the GEO Group, is one of the largest private prison companies in the nation.

Hundreds of detainees launched a hunger and labor strike at the prison on May 22 after allegedly facing “inhumane” conditions such as bad food and medical neglect.

A series of clashes ignited last week between federal officers and protesters, who are demanding the release of all federal detainees at Delaney Hall.

Federal authorities arrested nearly two dozen people in the span of a few days, accusing them of kicking ICE agents, spraying them with an “unknown substance” and throwing objects.

Protesters and advocates have disputed the allegations from federal authorities, however, claiming that ICE agents have been the aggressors. Activists have shared multiple videos showing pepper spraying, baton-wielding and crowd-shoving online.

The standoff has also caught the attention of President Trump, who dismissed the protesters and claimed that the United States runs the “finest facilities anywhere in the world of their type.”

>> RELATED: ICE Protests Explode At NJ Prison: What We Know So Far

Some MAGA supporters have been rallying behind Trump in New Jersey.

The America First Republicans of New Jersey (AFRNJ) organized a counter-protest on Saturday morning outside the prison.

Members of the right-wing extremist group, the Proud Boys, were also spotted outside Delaney Hall – although a AFRNJ spokesperson said they came separately and were not involved in organizing the rally.

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Dozens of pro-Trump demonstrators can be seen on video waving U.S. flags, giving speeches on megaphones and chanting “ICE… ICE… We love ICE!”

Mike Crispi, chair of the America First Republicans of New Jersey chair, said last weekend’s counter-rally sent a message that “we will never be intimidated.”

“We are not ceding this ground to Mikie Sherrill and Andy Kim for them to score cheap political points,” Crispi said. “We are standing for law and order and the Trump immigration agenda that millions of New Jerseyans voted for.”

Crispi was joined at the rally by fellow AFRNJ leaders, Michael Byrne, Michael Forem, Michael Casey and other pro-ICE activists from New Jersey.

The AFRNJ said its members arrived at the scene early on Saturday to clean up piles of garbage left behind by anti-ICE protesters the night before. After the rally, Crispi's team delivered cases of water and Gatorade to law enforcement officers – which was noted by ICE on its official social media account.

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