Protester hit by car outside Delaney Hall, 'They don’t get to take me away and put me down'
Video captured Sunday shows the moment Alex James was hit from behind outside Delaney Hall, where demonstrations have been taking place for weeks.
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A woman who was struck by a car outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Newark is speaking out about the moment it happened and why she returned to protest just hours later.
Video captured Sunday shows the moment Alex James was hit from behind outside Delaney Hall, where demonstrations have been taking place for weeks.
The footage, which has been widely shared on social media, shows James near the facility’s front gates when a red car comes through the area and strikes her.
“I registered tumbling at the same time I registered being hit,” she said. “I basically handled that, tried to tumble in a way that wouldn’t hurt as much as it might. That’s when I see the side of a red sports car 'vroom' past.”
James, an organizer from Minnesota, said she traveled to New Jersey because of concerns about alleged human rights abuses inside Delaney Hall.
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“I was holding a flag. I was waving a flag. I was dancing with a flag,” she said. “When it looked like all the cars were done coming through and all the guards had retreated as well, we had no visual indicator that more cars were coming. So, we filtered back to the center.”
According to the Newark Police Department, James was taken to a local hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries. However, James said she returned to the detention center later that same day instead of heading home.
“We need to be one community, and we need to communicate that they don’t get to take me away and put me down for the day,” she said. “They’re in there having to deal with so much more than I am...Why would I?"
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told News 12 the red car that hit James was not being driven by an ICE employee. The agency referred News 12 to the GEO group, the company that operates Delaney Hall.
The GEO Group did not respond to a request for comment.
The Department of Homeland Security spokesperson also told News 12, “On Sunday, rioters surrounded an employee’s vehicle, assaulted federal officers, interfered with a lawful arrest, and attempted to obstruct law enforcement operations. One rioter was arrested after she bit a law enforcement officer. Violence against law enforcement will not be tolerated. Law and order will prevail."
