New Jersey State Police and protesters continue clashes outside Delaney Hall in Newark, while accounts conflict

Clashes between law enforcement and protesters continued late Friday at Delaney Hall, despite New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s efforts to establish protected protest zones outside the Newark immigration detention center, according to news reports.

The tensions escalated after officials said police asked demonstrators to disperse so employees could leave, according to a statement from New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport just after midnight Saturday.

But demonstrators said they were boxed in by law enforcement, and one person told NJ.com that they were given minutes to disperse, then authorities pushed protesters and shot off “tear gas, pepper balls, and possibly rubber bullets.” Several protesters said state troopers charged them on foot and on horseback, the New York Times reported.

Davenport said New Jersey State Police only took action after a small group of demonstrators refused orders, deployed fireworks, and threw gas canisters. Their “dangerous actions,” Davenport said, “put everyone in harm’s way.”

“To ensure the safety of everyone involved, including the overwhelmingly peaceful protesters at the facility, State Police temporarily cleared the area outside Delaney Hall,” the attorney general’s statement said. “We remain committed to protecting everyone’s safety and their constitutional right to protest peacefully.”

In her own statement Saturday morning, Sherrill echoed Davenport, saying that state police’s actions were “absolutely necessary to protect public safety, and avoid escalation from ICE.”

“Today and going forward, I urge everyone who is protesting to do so peacefully in the safe areas, and work together to bring the temperature down,” she said. “We need to focus on advocating for better conditions for the detainees, for their families, and ultimately, for the closure of Delaney Hall.”

The skirmish happened hours after Sherrill’s administration announced state police were set to take over public safety operations and establish protected protest zones outside the facility — a necessary move to avoid giving ICE “pretext” to expand operations in the state, the governor said.

“My top priority is keeping New Jerseyans and our communities safe — and an increased ICE surge in the area outside of Delaney Hall is a threat to public safety,” Sherrill reiterated in her statement Saturday. “We know that lives would be at risk were that to happen. And I will not accept that risk.”

» READ MORE: Gov. Sherrill creates ‘protected protest’ zones amid ongoing Delaney Hall clashes with ICE

A spokesperson for the governor’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking additional information and comment; an email seeking comment from New Jersey State Police was not immediately returned.

The protests outside have been ongoing for a week as detainees inside launched a hunger strike over poor, unsanitary living conditions. Federal authorities have denied all allegations of lack of care or improper treatment of detainees at the 1,000-bed facility.

Sherrill, U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, and other Democratic members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation tried to conduct an oversight visit of the detention center earlier this week. While Sherrill said her request to visit the facility was formally denied, Kim was eventually allowed inside. When he left protesters were clashing with ICE agents, and in the commotion, the senator said he was pepper-sprayed.

» READ MORE: Andy Kim doesn’t know what’s next for Delaney Hall ICE facility, and that terrifies him

Protesters have been attempting to block people and vehicles from entering and exiting, linking their arms in a human chain and using trash cans, umbrellas and other items as makeshift shields and barricades.

At least six demonstrators were arrested for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers Wednesday night, and more have been arrested on other nights, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.