Dozens of protesters, including members of Denver Communists and Abolish ICE Denver, demonstrated in front of a family’s home to protest illegal immigrant detention, leading to several arrests, newly released footage shows.
Opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took a personal turn for Johnny Choate, the GEO Group warden for an ICE processing center in Aurora, Colorado. Liberal activists associated with Denver Communists, Abolish ICE, and Antifa demonstrated in front of his house Thursday night.
There were dozens of protesters, estimated to be over 100, who descended upon Choate’s neighborhood. Their demonstration also drew around 50 counter-protesters who voiced support for Choate. Aurora police arrived to maintain security and usher the protesters away from the area. Three individuals were ultimately arrested, according to a statement from the Aurora Police Department.
#APDAlert Tonight during the protest three males were arrested. Two were adults, and the third we are working to get a positive identification on. They will be prosecuted by the @DA18th Among their charges are Obstruction, Disorderly Conduct and resisting arrest. pic.twitter.com/qEE4pVLwB7
— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD) September 20, 2019
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Many activists donned red shirts that read “Close the Concentration Camps.” One man said his organization opposed the detention of immigrants — no matter the circumstances.
“We’re here to protest the inhumane conditions underseen by Johnny Choate, director of ICE,” a man who identified himself as a member of the Denver Communists said Thursday. “We believe the detaining and incarceration of immigrants at all is incredibly against human rights. We oppose any borders as well as any enforcement of immigration limitations … We see any encroachment on the freedom of movement to be a violation of human rights.” (RELATED: Anti-Trump Protesters Demand Illegal Immigrants Be Released, ICE Be Abolished)
The man admitted that he had never actually been inside the Aurora Detention Center.
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GEO Group is a private company that specializes in detention, and operates numerous immigrant detention facilities around the country on behalf of ICE. This is not the first time that the company has been subject to protest. One of its offices in San Antonio, Texas was targeted in an overnight shooting in August.
Fortunately for Choate and his family, they were unharmed by the demonstration.
“Tonight we breathe a sigh of relief that our employee’s family and his neighbors are safe and their properties remain intact,” a GEO Group spokesperson said in a statement to a local Denver news outlet. “We continue to believe that these activists seeking open borders or other changes to our immigration laws should direct their thoughts and ideas to our elected leaders in their constituent offices.”
Abolish ICE Denver did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
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