Truthout is an indispensable resource for activists, movement leaders and workers everywhere. Please make this work possible with a quick donation.

On Friday, a coalition of over a dozen press freedom groups condemned the May 31 arrests of at least three journalists covering the protests at Delaney Hall immigration jail in Newark, New Jersey, calling for their charges to be dropped.

Photojournalists covering the protests say they have been deliberately targeted for assault by ICE agents and police — with at least 42 assaults and five instances of officers damaging journalists’ equipment, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented brutality against journalists at Delaney Hall since the protests began on May 22, detailing numerous cases of officers pushing members of the press, burning them with chemical irritants and smoke grenades, spraying them with teargas, and striking them with batons.

This documentation gives lie to New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s (D) claim that the protests have become violent due to “outsiders.”

Many of these assaults occurred last Sunday night, when police surrounded protesters outside of Delaney Hall and arrested at least 46 people after the mayor of Newark had instituted a curfew. But journalists were exempt from the curfew.

Protests Erupt at New Jersey Immigrant Jail in Support of Striking Detainees

In that incident, state police demanded that the press leave. Protesters, in turn, chanted “press don’t leave.”

When an officer reported over his radio that the press would not go far enough away, he was told, “If they refuse to move, push them back yourselves.”

The three who remained with the group were arrested, and one was injured and taken........

© Truthout