Newark, NJ — Brendan John Geier, a 26-year-old anti-ICE protester from Madison, New Jersey, was charged Friday after allegedly biting and kicking federal officers during a chaotic clash outside the Delaney Hall ICE detention center in Newark on Thursday night.

According to the Department of Justice, Geier was part of a group of demonstrators blocking a roadway leading to the facility around 10:30 p.m. When ICE deportation officers formed a line to clear the road and issued repeated commands to disperse, Geier allegedly refused to comply and engaged in a physical struggle.

Officials say Geier kicked several officers and bit two others — sinking his teeth into one officer’s forearm and another’s knuckle. The victims suffered serious injuries, including deep puncture wounds and lacerations that required hospital treatment. Graphic photos released by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche show bloody bite marks and gashes on the officers’ arms.

Geier appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cari Fais on Friday. He faces federal charges for assaulting and causing bodily injury to federal officers.

“Peaceful protest doesn’t translate to violently attacking federal law enforcement officers,” Blanche said in a statement. “We will not tolerate the vicious attacks we have seen in Newark the last few days, and we will make arrests and hold people accountable for criminal conduct.”

The incident is part of several nights of escalating protests outside Delaney Hall. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin called Geier a “violent agitator” and emphasized that the Trump Administration stands firmly with federal law enforcement.

“Anyone who assaults a law enforcement officer will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Mullin stated.

The protests have centered on claims about conditions inside the detention facility, which DHS has strongly denied. Multiple arrests have been made in recent days amid the unrest.