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Anti-ICE protester struck by car in New Jersey
A Minnesota woman is recovering after being struck by a car outside an ICE facility in New Jersey. FOX 9's Mike Manzoni has the latest details.
NEWARK, New Jersey (FOX 9) - A Minnesota woman said she will not be deterred after being hit by a car while protesting outside a New Jersey ICE detention center.
Protester struck outside ICE detention center, viral videos show
What we know:
Alex James, an anti-ICE protester from St. Paul, was hit by a red sports car while demonstrating outside Delaney Hall, an ICE detention center in Newark.
Viral cell phone videos from Sunday show James waving an upside-down flag and making an obscene gesture before being knocked to the ground by the vehicle. Another video shows a front tire missing her head by just inches.
"I tumbled as I realized that I’m hit," she recalled.
She also fears that she may have suffered a head injury.
"I was on the phone with someone in Minnesota, and I could not register anything that that person said at all," she said.
Just a day before, she said someone ran over her megaphone outside the same facility. Despite these incidents, she returned to the scene to continue protesting.
On Wednesday, Newark police identified the driver as Thomas Brown, who now faces an assault by auto charge.
James is planning to sue ICE and other parties. Her Minnesota-based attorneys, James Cook and Trisha Pohland, intend to pursue legal action against the federal government, even though Homeland Security officials claim it was not an ICE vehicle.
"The video is probably the key – is the key evidence," said Cook. "You can never take anything they say at face value, so the intent is to file a suit. It happened at an ICE facility, so it’s on their property."
"The vehicle did not even slow down," said Pohland. "It rammed right into her. She’s very lucky she’s alive."
Homeland Security response and facility background
What they're saying:
In a statement on Wednesday, Homeland Security officials said, in part:
"On Sunday, rioters surrounded an employee’s vehicle, assaulted federal officers, interfered with a lawful arrest and attempted to obstruct law enforcement operations... The vehicle was not being driven by an ICE employee."
Officials directed questions to The GEO Group, the private contractor that operates Delaney Hall.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Source: This story uses information gathered by FOX 9 reporter Mike Manzoni.