MULLIN TORCHES DEMS: Memorial Day is for Fallen Heroes, Not ICE Protests [WATCH]

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is accusing Democrats of hijacking Memorial Day for political theater.

Appearing on Hannity Tuesday night, Mullin blasted anti-ICE demonstrators who targeted the Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark, arguing that activists and Democratic officials chose a day meant to honor fallen service members to protest immigration enforcement efforts.

“It just shows where these extreme radical Democrats’ priorities are when they choose Memorial Day, of all the days, to go out and protest the fact that we took criminals off the streets,” Mullin said.

“Their priorities lie more with protecting these criminals … than it is actually, I would say, celebrating the sacrifice that men and women across this nation have paid for the freedoms that they have to go out there and practice their First Amendment rights.”

The confrontation centered on Delaney Hall, a Newark detention facility that has become the focus of days of demonstrations, with protesters alleging poor conditions and detainee hunger strikes. DHS has repeatedly disputed those claims and maintains detainees are receiving appropriate care.

Mullin said he personally spoke with Sen. Andy Kim after the Democrat relayed allegations that detainees inside the facility had launched a hunger strike.

According to Mullin, those claims proved unfounded.

“We ended up allowing him to have access to it,” Mullin said of Kim’s visit.

“We said, ‘You can’t go in there with your staff and film and cause a big show.’”

The DHS secretary also took aim at New Jersey Democrats, including Gov. Mikie Sherrill, accusing them of escalating tensions rather than calming them. DHS has previously described visits by New Jersey Democrats to the facility as political stunts designed to generate publicity.

“It’s like it was all for show,” Mullin said. “And at the same time, they’re trying to tell me they were trying to de-escalate the situation when you had Antifa flags flying out there.”

Watch the clip above.