Three people at a protest outside the Aurora home of the warden of a privately operated immigration detention center were arrested late Thursday.

The protest in a residential neighborhood triggered a tweet from Aurora’s police chief, who called the incident “vile & disgusting.”

9News quoted police as saying they arrested three people at the scene on suspicion of obstruction, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Police reported no injuries.

The protest targeted the home of Johnny Choate, an employee of GEO Group Inc., a Florida-based private company that operates a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Aurora that has been the scene of past protests.

An activist group, Abolish ICE Denver, said in a Facebook post that it had planned the protest over what it called GEO’s lack of accountability for its detainees.

“The stories from people impacted by ICE and held at the GEO camp here in Colorado are enough to warrant serious action,” the Facebook post on Wednesday said. “In the face of repeated calls for change and transparency, GEO has doubled down and refused to take accountability for any of the people they have harmed.”

Counter-protesters also gathered nearby, 9News reported, and at times the two groups yelled back and forth at each other, drawing attention from residents of the neighborhood.

Aurora Police prepared for the protest with riot gear, according to photos and videos tweeted out during the evening.

Aurora Police Chief Nick Metz later tweeted this:

“What I saw tonite by many of U who protested in residential cmty w/children was vile&disgusting. @AuroraPD protects free speech, but your message was completely lost. U were out of your league. My cops were simply AMAZING despite your attempts to bait them into a confrontation!”

After the Thursday night protest, GEO Group issued a statement to the media:

“Tonight we breathe a sigh of relief that our employee’s family and his neighbors are safe and their properties remain intact. Unfortunately, the spectacle has set a new low in our politics and public discourse.

“We hope the community support and pushback from brave leaders opposing this dangerous idea will serve as a deterrent for any future protests targeting people in their family’s homes and neighborhoods. These misdirected attacks and intimidation of our employees must stop and we encourage our local leaders to stand against these hateful tactics and push for a return to civil discourse. Remember, our employees are also your neighbors, friends and colleagues, who share the same compassion and professionalism that many other Coloradans pursue in their trades.

“We continue to believe that these activists seeking open borders or other changes to our immigration laws should direct their thoughts and ideas to our elected leaders in their constituent offices. We can’t solve the immigration crisis from our facilities but as we’ve done over the past 30 years in Aurora, we’ll continue to provide the same high-quality, professional services we provided to both Democratic and Republican administrations.”

Before the protest, U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, issued a statement saying:

“The planned protest outside Warden Choate’s home by extreme anti-ICE protesters goes beyond the pale. Groups like Abolish ICE have demonstrated they have little regard for the rule of law, and the threatening nature of this protest should be taken very seriously.”

The planned protest came after the American Civil Liberties Union released a report Tuesday claiming that neglect and lack of proper medical care have led to two deaths at Aurora’s facility. ACLU of Colorado later tweeted that it did not support the protest at the warden’s home.

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