2 charged after protest at Newark’s Delaney Hall detention center, police say
According to police, both defendants are charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, obstruction and rioting/failure to disperse.
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Two out-of-state residents were arrested and charged following protests at the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, authorities said.
Newark Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda Sr. said Thomas Alan Clemens, 30, of Oak Park, Illinois, and Aida Paige Riddle, 35, of Brooklyn, New York, were arrested during demonstrations Wednesday at Delaney Hall.
According to police, both defendants are charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, obstruction and rioting/failure to disperse.
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Clemens was also charged with hindering apprehension, while Riddle faces an additional charge of escape.
“These two individuals came into Newark—not with the intention to support detainees at Delaney Hall—but to incite violence and act aggressively toward members of the Newark Police Division. Both are now charged with aggravated assault,” Miranda said in a statement.
Miranda said Newark police seek to protect the First Amendment rights of people protesting peacefully, but arrests are necessary when demonstrators become violent and strike officers. He also commended officers for containing the unrest and limiting the number of arrests.
