Two protestors who joined an effort to block a planned Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown on Canal Street in lower Manhattan were charged with felony assault after injuring two officers trying to control the crowd, prosecutors said.
The two were among a total of 18 arrested during a chaotic protest that included forming a human chain and using garbage cans and planters to block ICE agents trying to leave a Lower East Side garage. Activists had learned of the gathering point for a planned, large-scale ICE operation and converged on the garage Saturday.
ICE called the NYPD to deal with the protestors, who were issued multiple warnings to disperse.
After an exit from the garage was cleared, officers were recorded pepper-spraying demonstrators as they chased the departing motorcade, throwing debris and garbage from a nearby dumpster at the vehicles.
