DHS says ICE arrested Nigerian national in Brooklyn, sparking protests

Nearly 10 people were detained in New York over the weekend as anti-ICE demonstrators were protesting against the arrest of an illegal immigrant accused of assault and drug possession, according to officials.

The protests erupted in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood after ICE arrested Chidozie Wilson Okeke, an illegal immigrant from Nigeria with previous arrests for assault and drug possession, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Okeke entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2023 and overstayed his visa that required him to leave the country by Feb. 26, 2024, DHS said.

During an immigration enforcement operation on Saturday, Okeke refused to comply with ICE agents’ commands to exit his car and attempted to hit them with the vehicle, according to the agency. He is then accused of being “physically combative” and attempting to punch and elbow ICE agents.

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“Our officers followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to make the arrest,” DHS said in a statement.

After his arrest, Okeke was taken to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center for a medical evaluation. Okeke “remained non-compliant during the medical evaluation, throwing himself to the floor and screaming,” DHS said, adding that he was eventually cleared by medical staff.

Video shows ICE agents dragging Okeke out of the hospital following his medical evaluation.

During the medical evaluation, a crowd of anti-ICE protesters gathered outside the hospital. DHS says the group damaged several ICE vehicles and assaulted agents, causing minor injuries.

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The NYPD said officers responded to reports of disorderly protesters outside the hospital between Stanhope and Stockholm streets on Saturday at around 10:25 p.m. Officers reported observing several people acting disorderly, obstructing vehicle traffic and blocking emergency entrances and exits to the hospital.

Officers issued repeated verbal warnings for the protesters to disperse and return to the sidewalks, according to the department.

Nine people were then taken into custody, including eight who were arrested and charged with resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief, the NYPD said. One person was issued a summons and released.

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The NYPD said it does not participate in civil immigration enforcement and had no prior awareness of the ICE operation.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told a Gothamist reporter after the incident on Saturday that ICE raids are “cruel and inhumane” and “they do nothing to serve in the interest of public safety, and I’ve said that even directly to the president.”