Protesters, security officers clash outside ICE office in Tucson

Protesters clashed with security officers outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Tucson Wednesday afternoon, as some protesters threw rocks, balloons of paint and used bear spray, while the masked officers defending the ICE facility appeared to fire pepper balls, and deployed pepper spray and a flash-bang device.

For many, the violent and chaotic confrontation was a disappointment that detracted from the peaceful intentions and conduct of most attendees, who said they wanted to publicly resist the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement.

Several hundred protesters had gathered at the intersection of South Country Club Road and Valencia at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, with a plan to march up the road to the ICE office, as part of an anti-ICE protest and a show of solidarity with immigrants.

But as the crowd reached about six private security officers behind metal barricades near the ICE office, a confrontation broke out and some protesters forced their way through the barriers, pushing them into the security officers. 

Many in the crowd retreated or left as the confrontation began, but some who remained threw rocks, balloons filled with paint and smoke bombs. Some also formed a front line using makeshift shields.

The security officers used chemical irritants like pepper spray and deployed a flash bang. One protester appeared to use bear spray on the security officers, who eventually retreated.

As dozens of Tucson Police Department reinforcements arrived in riot gear around 5:30 p.m., the crowd quickly moved back from the ICE office and re-grouped a short distance away. 

For almost an hour, the 100 or so remaining protesters continued rallying a couple hundred feet from the line of TPD officers, before returning to the intersection of Valencia and County Club, which had been partially shut down by that time.

Around 7:30 p.m. TPD began clearing the area, after declaring an unlawful assembly and asking everyone to leave. A journalist saw three people being taken into custody at that time, though it's not clear if they were arrested.

Earlier Wednesday, Tucson Police Chief Chad Kasmar issued a statement saying, "Federal immigration enforcement operations have been occurring throughout Arizona, including locations in Tucson. We recognize that these activities cause concern and uncertainty for members of our community. The Tucson Police Department is not involved in federal immigration enforcement operations."

"We fully respect the constitutional rights of individuals to peacefully assemble and express their views. Our role is to help ensure the safety of all involved and to treat everyone with dignity and respect," Kasmar wrote.

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Large-scale protests, starting in Los Angeles last Friday, have spread across the U.S over the last week, amid growing outrage over the Trump administration’s escalating mass-deportation campaign and what critics call the increasingly unjust and violent tactics of immigration agents supporting ICE.

On Tuesday afternoon, a peaceful protest in downtown Tucson drew nearly 300 people to the Garcés Footbridge.

At the beginning of Wednesday's protest, before violence took place, peaceful protesters waved flags, blew bubbles and displayed protest signs, chanting in support of immigrants, workers and Palestinians.

Attendee Miroslava Hernandez said at the start of the protest that she felt compelled to take action against the "cruelty" of Trump's mass deportation campaign.

"I just can't see myself not trying to stop this in some way. It's too much. It's too cruel," she said. "I think this will go down in history as a very dark time for this country, and I want to be able to say, 'I spoke up. I was there.' Hopefully we can make a difference."

Protester Taylor Smith said she rendered aid to someone who had been pepper sprayed Wednesday, though she and many other attendees had planned on a peaceful demonstration.

The Tucson tattoo artist said the chaos at the protest doesn't reflect most protesters' actions and shouldn't overshadow their message.

"I think a lot of people out here tonight wanted to just peacefully demonstrate that this isn't the America we want to live in," she said. "My goal tonight was to come out in support of what's happening across the country right now. I feel like we're really teetering on fascism. ... We're taking people without due process, and that's not okay. That's not the America that I stand for and I want to live in."

Photos: Protesters clash with TPD and security outside ICE facility. Graphic images.