EXCLUSIVE: A New Jersey attorney is critical
Meet each other. Paul Kanitra, R-Toms River, spoke exclusively to Fox News Digital during a visit to Delaney Hall in Newark where he said Democrats created the problem that led to the protests.
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As New Jersey Gov. Mikey Sherrill blamed out-of-state protesters for the unrest outside Newark’s Delaney Hall Detention Center, critics pointed to a limited police presence in the area in the days leading up to the clashes.
While Fox News Digital was on the scene at Delaney Hall until Thursday of last week, there were few, if any, visits to the marked vehicles of the New Jersey State Police – the agency under Sherrill’s control. Likewise, the policies of the city of Newark Ras J. Baraka have been reflected in the lack of Newark police patrolling the area.
However, on Saturday, Sherrill said five of the six people arrested on Friday were from Pennsylvania and New York – the latter within a few miles of the protest.
That wasn’t enough for critics, as the Republican frontrunner sought to challenge Delaney Hall’s critic, Sen. Cory Booker in November called out Sherrill for trying to take credit for fixing a problem that shouldn’t have existed in the first place.
WATCH: POLICE OFF DELANEY HALL CHAOS AS AGITATORS BLOCK CASE TRUCKS AND AGENTS USE PEPER SPRAY
ICE agents clash with protesters outside Delaney Hall in east downtown Newark, NJ on Thursday May 28, 2026. (Rashid Umar Abbasi of Fox News Digital)
“Governor Sherrill, you’re a hot-headed person crying about the fire you started. Delaney Hall is under siege,” said investigative reporter Alex Zdan for the Democrat in a statement.
Zdan, who lists border security and better oversight of Big Pharma as his top issues, is considered the front-runner in Tuesday’s Republican Senate race to take on Booker – Baraka’s predecessor as mayor.
“Our brave state soldiers are in danger, and all you can do is complain to the media about foreign disturbances? Who asked them to go there, Governor?” Zdan continued.
“Who was told it was a moral duty to go down to Delaney Hall and beat up our brave ICE agents and soldiers? You, Andy Kim, and Cory Booker. This is your dirt. Deal with it. Restore order now.”
The Department of Justice has announced charges against a 27-year-old suspect accused of insulting ICE agents and threatening to kill an officer and his family after allegedly obtaining the officer’s ID, telling him “[d] your face.”
Nicholas Matthew Scelfo appears to have ties to both New Jersey and New York. The FBI said agents raided his home in Morristown, and the DOJ charging document describes him as “from Brooklyn.”
FBI ARRESTS PROTESTANT WHO THREATENED TO KILL ICE OFFICER’S FAMILY AT NJ DETENTION CENTER PROTEST, BLANCHE SAYS
A protester is treated after being pepper sprayed outside Delaney Hall in Newark, NJ (Rashid Umar Abbasi of Fox News Digital.)
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas said this incident is not an example of protected protest, as “calling for the killing of a law enforcement officer and his family is not constitutionally protected speech; it is a heinous crime that will not be tolerated.”
As Fox News Digital left Delaney Hall Thursday night, the first team of New Jersey State Police officers appeared on the scene – one manning a checkpoint near Roanoke Avenue under the Pulaski Skyway and another near the New Jersey Ironbound bus garage, south of Delaney Hall in Doremus, which was full of agitators.
However, over the weekend, the Sherrill police were out in large numbers to deal with the rioters, including mounted officers. A video shared on social media on Monday shows one man approaching police outside the Ironbound garage and sitting on the curb while talking to officers, who allowed him to come forward before quickly arresting him and dragging him behind a line of riot police.
External disturbances, however, were among those gathering overnight at Delaney Hall, as one young man who was videotaped by Fox News Digital yelling at ICE was later interviewed by an independent newspaper and at one point recounted events in “Minnesota” – an apparent reference to the unrest-related demonstrations there.
New Jersey’s Attorney General, Jennifer Davenport, suggested that many smokers have been peaceful so far while criticizing the group wearing gas masks and helmets who “willfully refused to obey orders” and put the public “at risk.”
New Jersey Governor Mikey Sherrill and Sen. Andy Kim, DN.J., stand outside Newark, New Jersey’s Delaney Hall detention center during a protest on 5/25/26. (Governor Mikee Sherrill)
However, in another statement over the weekend, he described the group as “peaceful protesters who have been shining a light on the troubling conditions at Delaney Hall.”
“We will continue to protect the constitutional right to peaceful protest, and we condemn any violent behavior that disrupts peaceful protests,” Davenport said.
Attempts to locate Baraka and Essex County Sheriff Amir Jones prior to the arrival of county police were unsuccessful.
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Sherrill’s office did not immediately return a request for comment.
A DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital that as of Monday, the perimeter around the facility was “completely closed” and that authorities would continue to prosecute suspects who interfered with the progress of the case, as ICE had to retaliate against angry insurgents who sprang into action every time a government vehicle or transport van approached Doremus Avenue.
