A Brooklyn man, Nicholas Matthew Scelfo, was charged after a criminal complaint says he threatened to kill an ICE officer and the officer’s family during protests outside Delaney Hall in Newark on May 27. The privately run, 1,000-bed facility has faced detainee complaints and a hunger strike over Memorial Day weekend. Authorities say they identified Scelfo using facial recognition and motor vehicle records; he admitted the threats during questioning and faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Brooklyn Man Charged After Allegedly Threatening to Kill ICE Officer During Newark Protests
ICE agents stand guard outside the federal immigration center at Delaney Hall on May 27 in Newark, New Jersey. - Adam Gray/Getty Images
Federal prosecutors charged 27-year-old Nicholas Matthew Scelfo of Brooklyn after a criminal complaint alleges he threatened to kill an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer and the officer's family during protests outside Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey.
The complaint says the threats occurred on May 27 while the officer was performing crowd-control duties outside Delaney Hall, a privately operated, 1,000-bed immigration detention facility that detainees have long criticized for poor conditions. According to court papers, Scelfo pointed at the officer and shouted: “I’ll kill your whole f***ing family. Your whole whole f***ing family is dead! Your children, your wife, all dead… you’re dead,” before being struck twice in the leg with a baton by the same officer during a physical altercation.
Attorneys for some detainees say tensions rose over the Memorial Day weekend when hundreds of people detained at Delaney Hall began a hunger strike to protest spoiled food and squalid conditions. The Department of Homeland Security has denied those allegations and says it disputes the claims about living conditions at the facility.
“When you’re threatening the lives of an officer, that’s verbal assault. When you threaten the lives of their family, that’s verbal assault,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said, adding that spitting on or touching federal vehicles and putting hands on officers also constitutes assault.
Investigators say they identified Scelfo using facial recognition technology and motor vehicle records, including a driver’s license photo. FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X that facial recognition helped track the suspect, and a Homeland Security Investigations official emphasized that calls to murder a federal officer and their family are not protected speech.
According to the complaint, Scelfo admitted during police questioning to making the threats. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said the area around Delaney Hall was calm as of Monday afternoon and that New Jersey State Police would continue assisting local authorities to protect the right to peaceful protest. Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka said a nightly curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. remains in effect and warned against actions that escalate tensions and jeopardize civil rights, public safety, and community well-being.
Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas of Homeland Security Investigations in Newark and other officials released statements condemning the alleged threats. Court records listed no attorney for Scelfo as of Monday afternoon, and CNN was unable to identify counsel for him.
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