A Protester Bit Two ICE Officers. The FBI Arrested Another for Threatening to Kill an Agent’s Family. Democratic Governors Attended.
For nine days in May 2026, the Delaney Hall ICE detention facility at 451 Doremus Avenue in Newark, New Jersey became the epicenter of an escalating standoff between anti-ICE protesters and federal law enforcement. What began as a demonstration against deportations ended with federal criminal charges, FBI arrests, and officers hospitalized after being bitten. Meanwhile, two of New Jersey’s highest-ranking Democratic officials — a governor and a sitting U.S. senator — spent Memorial Day at the protest perimeter.
On May 28, Brendan Geier, 26, of Madison, NJ allegedly kicked and bit two ICE deportation officers hard enough to send both to the hospital. Federal prosecutors charged him under 18 U.S.C. § 111 — assaulting a federal officer with bodily injury — carrying up to 20 years in prison. The next day, the FBI arrested Nicholas Scelfo, 27, of Brooklyn, after he posted video threatening to kill an ICE officer and his entire family: “Your whole f***ing family is dead. Your children, your wife, all dead.” Acting AG Todd Blanche responded on X in two words: “FAFO.”
Attending Memorial Day ceremonies at the protest: Governor Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) — who was caught in pepper spray — and Representative Rob Menendez Jr. (D-NJ-8). Already among the crowd: Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ-10), who was attending the 2026 protests while under federal indictment from the 2025 incident at the same facility — three counts of assaulting federal officers, maximum 17 years.
- 9 daysEscalating protest siege — May 22–30, 2026The Delaney Hall ICE detention facility, Newark NJ, operated through sustained nightly protest activity including deployment of unknown chemical sprays, fireworks, and gas canisters against federal officers. At least 100+ individuals present on prior nights; multiple arrests for assault on federal officers.
- 20 yrsMax federal exposure — Brendan Geier, 26, Madison NJCharged under 18 U.S.C. § 111 (assaulting a federal officer with bodily injury) after allegedly kicking and biting two ICE deportation officers on May 28, sending both to the hospital. Announced by First Asst. U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer, USAO-NJ. Presumed innocent until conviction.
- FBI arrestNicholas Scelfo, 27, Brooklyn — May 29, 2026FBI agents arrested Scelfo at his home after he posted a video threatening to kill an ICE officer and his 'whole f***ing family — your children, your wife, all dead.' Acting AG Todd Blanche posted 'FAFO' on X immediately after the arrest. Presumed innocent until conviction.
- 8,000%Increase in death threats against ICE officers nationally — DHS Sec. MullinDHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin (R) stated ICE officers are facing an 8,000% increase in death threats nationally. Mullin also disputed activist claims of a hunger strike inside Delaney Hall, calling them false. Source: @SecMullinDHS X post, May 29, 2026.
- 3 countsRep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ-10) — federal indictment, May 2025McIver faces three counts of assaulting DHS agents (max 17 years) from the May 2025 incident at the same Delaney Hall facility. She was present at the 2026 protests while her indictment remains pending. Presumed innocent until conviction.
- $1BGEO Group contract — Delaney Hall, 1,196 beds, 15 yearsDelaney Hall operates under a 15-year, $1 billion contract between GEO Group and ICE. The 1,196-bed facility at 451 Doremus Avenue, Newark NJ was the site of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka's (D) 2025 arrest on trespassing charges during an unscheduled congressional visit, charges later dropped.
A $1 billion contract. 1,196 beds. Nine nights of siege.
Delaney Hall is not a new flashpoint. The detention facility at 451 Doremus Avenue in Newark operates under a 15-year, $1 billion contract between the GEO Group — a publicly traded private corrections company — and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. With 1,196 beds, it is one of the largest ICE detention facilities on the East Coast. In May 2025, during an earlier wave of protests, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) was arrested at the facility on trespassing charges during what was described as an unscheduled congressional visit; those charges were later dropped.
The 2026 protests began May 22 and escalated across nine consecutive days. By the final nights, demonstrators had deployed unknown chemical sprays against federal officers, hurled fireworks and gas canisters, and — according to the DOJ — physically assaulted ICE deportation officers. Federal prosecutors in New Jersey announced the first charges on May 29. By May 30, two separate individuals had been federally charged: one for biting officers hard enough to require hospitalization, one for videotaped threats to kill an agent’s entire family.
Delaney Hall, 451 Doremus Avenue, Newark, NJ — a $1 billion, 15-year ICE detention contract with the GEO Group. The facility holds 1,196 detainees. In 2025, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) was arrested here on trespassing charges during an unscheduled congressional visit.
“We will not tolerate the vicious attacks on ICE officers who are doing their jobs to protect the American people.”
Acting AG Todd Blanche — DOJ statement following Geier charges, May 29, 2026
Memorial Day. Officers hospitalized. A governor, a senator, and an indicted congresswoman at the gate.
On Memorial Day — two days after the biting incident sent two ICE officers to the hospital — a roster of New Jersey’s Democratic leadership arrived at the Delaney Hall perimeter. Governor Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) attended alongside Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ), who was caught in the deployment of pepper spray and called for the facility’s closure. Rep. Rob Menendez Jr. (D-NJ-8) — son of the convicted former senator — also attended. Sherrill later ordered the New Jersey State Police to assume perimeter security at the facility.
Also present among the protesters during the 2026 demonstrations: Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ-10). McIver is not a bystander to the Delaney Hall situation — she is a named defendant in it. In May 2025, at the same facility, McIver was charged with three counts of assaulting DHS agents, with a maximum exposure of 17 years in federal prison. Those charges remain pending. She was indicted, attending the same protests, in 2026.
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill (D) and Senator Andy Kim (D) spent Memorial Day 2026 at the Delaney Hall protest, days after protesters had used unknown chemical sprays, fireworks, and gas canisters against federal officers. Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) attended the 2026 protests while already under federal indictment from the 2025 incident at the same facility.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) — Memorial Day at the protest perimeter; later ordered NJ State Police to take over perimeter security at Delaney Hall. Succeeded Phil Murphy (D) in January 2026.
Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) — caught in pepper spray at the Memorial Day protest; called for closure of Delaney Hall. Former House member elevated to Senate in 2024.
Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ-10) — present at 2026 protests; under federal indictment (3 counts assaulting DHS agents, max 17 years) from the May 2025 incident at the same facility. Presumed innocent until conviction.
Rep. Rob Menendez Jr. (D-NJ-8) — present at Memorial Day protest. Son of former Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), convicted July 2024 of bribery, extortion, obstruction, and acting as a foreign agent.
Mayor Ras Baraka (D-Newark) — arrested at Delaney Hall in 2025 on trespassing charges during an unscheduled congressional visit; charges later dropped.
One bit officers until they were hospitalized. Another threatened to murder an agent’s children. Both were arrested within 24 hours.
The first federal charge came May 29 when Brendan Geier, 26, of Madison, NJ was arrested and charged with assault on a federal officer with bodily injury under 18 U.S.C. § 111. According to DOJ, on May 28 Geier allegedly kicked two ICE deportation officers and then bit both of them — hard enough that both officers required hospital treatment. The maximum federal sentence on the charge is 20 years in prison. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer of USAO-NJ announced the charges. In addition to Geier, federal prosecutors noted that protesters had been hurling fireworks and gas canisters at law enforcement, and that more than 100 individuals had been present on prior protest nights.
On May 29, the day after the biting incident, Nicholas Scelfo, 27, of Brooklyn was arrested at his home by FBI agents after posting a video in which he threatened to kill an ICE officer and, explicitly, that officer’s family: “Your whole f***ing family is dead. Your children, your wife, all dead.” Acting AG Todd Blanche posted on X shortly after the arrest. Both defendants are presumed innocent until conviction.
Told you. @FBI just arrested the man who threatened to kill ICE officers and their families. FAFO.
Thank you to the @FBI for arresting a rioter who threatened to kill an @ICEgov law enforcement officer and his family... Our officers are facing an 8,000% increase in death threats.
The same facility. One year later. An indicted congresswoman returned.
In May 2025, during an earlier confrontation at Delaney Hall, Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ-10) was among those present when DHS agents were assaulted. Federal prosecutors subsequently indicted McIver on three counts of assaulting federal officers, carrying a maximum of 17 years in prison. That indictment is pending. McIver has maintained she did not assault anyone.
Despite the pending federal indictment, McIver was present at the 2026 protests at the same facility. Mayor Ras Baraka (D-Newark), who was arrested at Delaney Hall in 2025 — charges subsequently dropped — remained a vocal critic of the facility. The pattern raises a documented structural question: Delaney Hall has now been the site of a mayor’s arrest, a congresswoman’s indictment, a governor’s Memorial Day appearance, a senator caught in pepper spray, and two separate waves of federal criminal charges against protesters in consecutive years.
“These aren't protesters; these people are fake, they're all paid for. We run the finest facilities anywhere in the world of their type.”
President Trump — Cabinet meeting, May 27, 2026
These aren't protesters; these people are fake, they're all paid for. We run the finest facilities anywhere in the world of their type.
Documented statement made at Cabinet meeting May 27, 2026 — not a verbatim Truth Social post. Quoted by Fox News and multiple wire services present at the briefing.
Federal assault law does not require a weapon. It requires injury — and officers were hospitalized.
The felony enhancement in 18 U.S.C. § 111(b)applies when an assault on a federal officer involves “bodily injury” — a standard that includes bites requiring medical treatment. The statute does not require the use of a weapon: teeth are sufficient, as courts have consistently held. The maximum under § 111(b) is 20 years. Geier’s case is precisely the fact pattern the statute was designed for: an officer attacked in the course of performing lawful federal duties, with injuries severe enough to require hospitalization.
Scelfo’s case sits at the intersection of federal threat statutes and the Delaney Hall political environment. Threatening a federal officer and that officer’s family — on video, naming the officer’s children and wife — is not ambiguous speech. The FBI arrested him the day after the video was posted. DHS Secretary Mullin’s documented 8,000% increase in death threats against ICE officers nationally is the context in which prosecutors are treating these cases as serious federal matters rather than local misdemeanor referrals.
Brendan Geier, 26, of Madison, NJ was arrested May 29, 2026 after allegedly biting two ICE deportation officers hard enough to require hospital treatment. Prosecutors filed federal charges under 18 U.S.C. § 111 — assaulting a federal officer with bodily injury — carrying a maximum of 20 years.
- ▸Delaney Hall, Newark NJ — $1 billion GEO Group ICE contract, 1,196 beds — was the site of a 9-day escalating protest siege from May 22–30, 2026. Protesters deployed chemical sprays, fireworks, and gas canisters against federal officers.
- ▸Brendan Geier, 26, was federally charged May 29 for allegedly biting two ICE officers on May 28, sending both to the hospital. Charge: 18 U.S.C. § 111, max 20 years. Announced by First Asst. U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer, USAO-NJ.
- ▸Nicholas Scelfo, 27, Brooklyn, was arrested by FBI May 29 after posting a video threatening to kill an ICE officer and his “whole f***ing family — your children, your wife, all dead.” Acting AG Blanche posted “FAFO.”
- ▸Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ), and Rep. Rob Menendez Jr. (D-NJ-8) spent Memorial Day — two days after the biting incident — at the protest perimeter. Sen. Kim was caught in pepper spray; Sherrill later ordered NJ State Police to take over perimeter security.
- ▸Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ-10) was present at the 2026 protests while under federal indictment from the May 2025 incident at the same facility — three counts of assaulting DHS agents, max 17 years. Presumed innocent until conviction.
- ▸DHS Secretary Mullin: ICE officers facing an 8,000% increase in death threats nationally. President Trump, May 27 Cabinet meeting: “These aren’t protesters; these people are fake, they’re all paid for.”