More than a dozen people were arrested on Friday during protests at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in Broadview, Ill., a suburb of Chicago.

Just before 8 a.m. ET, approximately 250 anti-ICE protesters gathered outside the facility where Illinois State Police and the Cook Country Sheriff’s Office set up barricades to designate protest zones, Fox News observed at the scene.

Fox News observed agents firing pepper balls, tear gas and rubber bullets to clear crowds blocking federal operations. 

Just hours later, tensions appeared to had died down significantly and police were no longer wearing gas masks.

On Sept. 29, the Justice Department announced that five individuals had been charged in federal court with assaulting or forcibly resisting federal agents in Broadview. The DOJ said the charges allege defendants made criminal physical contact with federal agents and that two defendants allegedly had loaded firearms while assaulting the federal agents.

One of the suspects, identified as Paul Ivery, is accused of telling agents, “I’ll [expletive] kill you right now.” 

The other suspects were identified as Dana Briggs, Hubert Mazur, Ray Collins and Jocelyne Robledo. Collins and Robledo are accused of having loaded firearms.

“While assisting our federal partners in securing the ICE Broadview facility on Saturday, ATF and Border Patrol agents were assaulted by violent and armed protestors, resulting in injury to an ATF agent,” Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), said.

“ATF takes all assaults on law enforcement seriously and will continue to work closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to ensure those responsible are held fully accountable for their actions,” Amon added.

Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson criticized the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Broadview during a press conference on Tuesday. (FOX32 Chicago WFLD)

Last week, Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson sent a letter to ICE Field Office Director Russell Hott in which she accused the agency of “making war” on her community and “endangering nearby village residents” with its response to the protests, WTTW reported.

In response, ICE accused Thompson of “distorting reality” and “pointing her finger in the wrong direction, while our officers are protecting her community — and others — from real threats, while also facing skyrocketing violence against them, including at the Broadview facility.”

Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo and Fox News’ Patrick McGovern contributed to this report.