Quakertown protest against ICE turns violent, arrests made

Quakertown School District officials canceled a planned student-led walkout Friday at its high school over Immigrations Customs Enforcement operations and tactics in the United States, but when some students took their protest into town, things turned violent.

By early afternoon Friday, a group of students were protesting in downtown Quakertown and videos shared on social media show arrests being made, including what looked like teenagers, taking place on Front Street.

Quakertown Police Chief Scott McElree, who has since been identified in videos of the melee, did not return multiple email messages sent on Feb. 20 seeking comment on the protest and the multiple cellphone videos circulating on social media that captured what appeared to be police officers and students in physical confrontations.

Two cellphone videos show an unidentified adult man in a tan shirt in physical confrontations with what appear to be two teenagers, including one a female who was placed in a chokehold. The man has since been identified as McElree by eyewitnesses, residents in Quakertown, photos and videos.

In a statement provided Friday night, the police department confirmed it has five to six juveniles and one adult in custody after a student ICE protest that began peacefully. Police said a “portion of participants engaged in disruptive and unsafe behaviors prompting police intervention to protect the public safety and maintain order.”

The police investigation is continuing and more arrests may result, the statement said. Neither police or the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office indicated if cellphone video, surveillance video or police body camera video was being reviewed as part of the investigation.

Earlier Friday Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan released a statement stating his office is aware of the incident and it is currently “gathering information.” His office did not respond to multiple emails seeking comment on specific cellphone videos and screenshots circulating online.

“We are committed to ensuring public safety and will provide updates if and when legally appropriate,” DA spokesman Manuel Gamiz said in a statement.

What happened at Quakertown protest?

Videos posted on social media allegedly show police confronting about 60 Quakertown students who walked out despite cancellation of an anti-ICE rally on Friday afternoon, according to students who were there. At least four students were arrested, according to the students.

Quakertown police estimated the number of students at 50, and they initially marched along 5th and Broad streets and officers repeatedly warned students to stay out of traffic, according to the police statement.

When the students reached East Broad Street, some participants allegedly threw snowballs at vehicles, kicked car tires and allegedly tore a side mirror from a car, according to the police statement.

When the group moved to Front and Juniper streets, they allegedly blocked traffic and jumped in front of vehicles, and additional officers were called to the scene, leading confrontations to escalate and police officers were assaulted, the statement said.

The statement did not address video recordings and photos circulating online that show police officers and McElree apparently manhandling students who did not appear to provoke the confrontations.

In an email update late Friday afternoon, the district stated that 35 high school students left the building without permission and proceeded down Front Street, where law enforcement reported students were “engaging in unsafe and disruptive behavior in town,” acting Superintendent Lisa Hoffman wrote.

In response the district coordinated with police and put the high school and Quakertown Elementary, located across the street, in lockdown, that was lifted at 1:15 p.m., the email said. Police were also present at school dismissals Friday, the district said.

District officials are also “actively investigating” multiple reports regarding the actions of any student who left the building, and more information will be shared they it becomes available, the email said.

“On behalf of the entire school district community, I want to extend my gratitude to the students who remained in school, to the staff members who assisted in keeping students and their colleagues safe, and to our many law enforcement and emergency safety partners who immediately came to our aid,” Hoffman wrote.

The students who participated in the protest left the school around 11:30 a.m. after the fifth-period bell rang, according to a 10th-grader named Marley, who participated. She alleged that teachers attempted to block exits.

Students were told that that if they left the campus they would not be allowed back inside and they would be subject to in-school suspension, according to the mother of one student protester.

The students, some carrying flags and anti-ICE signs, walked into downtown Quakertown away from the school, where the arrest took place, according to students who participated.

Marley alleged that students were confronted by police on Broad and Front streets near Trolley Barn Public Market and told to turn around.

The students were peacefully protesting after leaving campus, Marley and three other students said, although there were other students who left the building and got into vehicles and allegedly started following the protesters revving their engines and yelling slurs, Marley said.

Two freshman girls who participated in the protest said that some students were kicking the tires of drivers who had heckled them prior to police arriving on the scene.

Cynthia, the mother of Marley, said that she followed and recorded the student protesters in her car because she was concerned about confrontations and their safety. She alleged that they were peacefully protesting.

“They did nothing wrong,” Cynthia said.

Several trucks followed the students while yelling slurs and revving their engines, Cynthia said.

At one point she saw students who were marching start running and yelling that they were being chased and attacked, Cynthia said.

Cynthia said she pulled over and parked and let student protesters, who she said were mostly girls, get inside the car; she then left the car and ran to the corner where she filmed other protesters allegedly being manhandled by adult men. Her daughter was not injured, Cynthia said.

Cynthia expressed anger at the way students were treated, adding that the district and police department could have handled the situation “a lot better.”

“It’s their First Amendment right,” Cynthia added. “They’re kids, and they’re girls. They weren’t protected by police.”

Marley and three freshman girls alleged they saw adults including police officers assaulting and manhandling students who were peacefully protesting.

“She did not deserve that, especially from an adult,” said Amy, whose daughter Olivia said she was among the students allegedly hit by the adult men.

There are multiple videos of the incident posted on social media and being shared with this news organization.

One video posted to social media showed students walking down Broad Street holding signs and cars honking. Another video shows what looks like someone punching or assaulting an officer. Another video shows a female student being detained.

“I saw you fling your backpack and hit somebody,” a police officer said as he appeared to arrest the girl. The girl replies that another student was being attacked at the time.

A screenshot from a cellphone video shows what appears to be an unidentified adult man wearing a tan jacket with a teenage girl in a headlock on the sidewalk.

“Her face was turning purple it was bad,” one freshman girl said. “I started kicking him but he would not let her go.”

The man in the tan jacket, approached the students and police seemingly out of nowhere, two freshman girls said, and began “grabbing and beating us up.” It was not clear to the students whether the man was a police officer, they said.

Another video posted on social media taken from inside a restaurant whose front windows faced where the confrontations were taking place shows the man in the tan jacket standing with a young female in a chokehold or headlock.

Other screenshots and still photos posted online appear to show the same man and girl on the ground with the man’s hands around her neck, as at least one teen appears to attempt to intervene.

Multiple teenagers then attack the adult man in the video; customers inside the restaurant where the video was recorded are heard commenting on the “grown man and kid” in a physical confrontation.

In another unsourced cellphone video, a crowd of students appears gathered on the sidewalk, when the adult male in a tan jacket appears and grabs a young male protester from behind, pushes him and grips his shirt.

The two appear to tussle and the young male hits the adult man with his cellphone. At the same time it appears in the video that other students are hitting the adult man from behind.

Another man who appears to have an unidentified emblem on his jacket grabs another young man from the confrontation and takes him to the ground, toppling a planter. Other teens are seen attempting to push the man off the student.

Elsewhere in the video there appears to be confrontations between protesters and police.

In another video posted online, showing a teen boy being placed in a police car, the man in the tan jacket is seen entering the driver’s side of a white SUV and later he emerges with what appears to be blood on the side of his face. He is heard in the video telling what appears to be a first responder that he is fine.

Quakertown walkout canceled

The violence came after Quakertown notified parents early Friday morning it was cancelling the planned walkout set for that day. The decision, according to a district email, was made after “careful consideration,” officials did not give a specific reason, but mentioned safety concerns.

In the Friday afternoon update the district confirmed the cancellation was related to a communication it received Thursday night regarding a “potential safety concern” associated with the student-led protest.

Quakertown is the only Bucks County district in recent weeks reported to have canceled an ICE protest outright for safety concerns, rather than moving it indoors or adjusting the event.

“While we respect students’ rights to express their views, our first priority is to ensure a safe and secure environment for all,” Quakertown Community High School tenth-grade Principal Jason Magditch wrote. “At this time we believe canceling the protest is the most appropriate course of action in the interest of student safety and well being.”

District spokeswoman Melissa Hartney confirmed in an email earlier Friday that the walkout was canceled due to “safety reasons,” but declined to comment if the district had received any threats about the walkout. McElree did not immediately respond earlier Friday to an email asking if the district received any threats.

In the initial email announcing the cancellation, Hartney added that school leadership and the administrative team will work with student leadership on “next steps.”

“We want our students’ voices to be heard, but safety is our top priority, and that is our focus this morning,” she said.

In the Centennial School District, William Tennent High School students also planned to conduct a walkout at the high school Friday, according to a district online post. The school district did not immediately respond to emails Friday asking if the protest took place as planned.

The arrests and police involvement at the Quakertown protest is the first since the recent anti-ICE protests have taken place in Philadelphia region school districts including Bucks County. Locally, Bensalem and Pennridge high school students protested earlier this week and Neshaminy and Pennsbury high schools last week.

Neshaminy and Pennsbury high schools each moved their protests inside school building after receiving “vague threats” online.

On Feb. 14, Pennsbury High School West campus was briefly placed in lock down after police received “highly credible threat” from the FBI that someone planned to commit an shooting on one of its high school campus one day after its protest.

Police identified a Pennsbury student as allegedly posting the threat on social media, but he had no access to firearms or a plan.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Quakertown protest against ICE turns violent, arrests made

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