More than a dozen demonstrators were arrested in lower Manhattan on Saturday after their attempts to stop federal agents from conducting immigration and enforcement activities, according to a law enforcement official.
The group of protesters chanted “ICE out of New York” in footage that showed them forming a barrier to block federal agents in a car from leaving a garage. Some grabbed planters from the roadway and hurled them at federal vehicles, the official said. The confrontations prompted some officers to deploy what appeared to be pepper spray to subdue demonstrators, the official added.
The incident is the latest in an array of protests that have taken place across the country between federal agents and demonstrators who are fighting against the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.
The special agent in charge of New York’s Homeland Security Investigations office apologized in a call with New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Saturday for how the enforcement action unfolded, according to the law enforcement official who was briefed on the call. Tisch criticized the action for putting the public, federal agents and officers at risk, the official said.
CNN has reached out to HSI and the Department of Homeland Security for further information.
The incident unfolded just before noon when NYPD officers responded to a 911 call for a “disorderly group” near Chinatown and observed multiple people blocking the street and exits at different locations and “throwing debris,” the agency said.
“They were instructed multiple times to disperse, and they did not comply. As a result, multiple individuals were taken into custody,” the NYPD said in a statement.
The situation remained peaceful at first as the crowd of protesters gathered in front of a closed garage before moving to the corner of the street, chanting “ICE out of New York” and shouting at police officers who did not engage. Federal officers at the scene were armed and many of them wore face coverings.
At one point, the garage opened and a barrier of protesters continued chanting while blocking a vehicle from exiting. As the car moved out of the garage, protesters chased and shouted at it while police officers tried to stop them and tackled at least one protester who was later released.
CNN’s Maria Sole Campinoti contributed to this report.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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