Posted originally on CTH on May 9, 2025 | Sundance

Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka and three congressional representatives, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rob Menendez and LaMonica McIver attempted a political stunt at a local ICE detention facility in Newark.  Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested.

The intention of the group was to shut down deportation operations at Delaney Hall, a 1,000-bed detention facility used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of the removal process for illegal aliens. Baraka, Coleman, Menendez and McIver created a public disturbance as part of their stunt and trespassed on federal facilities.

As an outcome, Mayor Ras Baraka was handcuffed and led away by federal authorities as the agitated crowd tried to fight the police and federal officials. WATCH:

NEW JERSEY – […] The arrest followed a chaotic scene in the facility’s parking lot involving protestors, federal law enforcement officers and the three members — Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rob Menendez and LaMonica McIver — at Delaney Hall. The Trump administration reopened the 1,00-bed facility this month to house migrants amid a lawsuit from the city against the private operator, GEO Group, alleging it does not have the proper inspections and permits. GEO group has denied that allegation.

The interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Alina Habba, confirmed that Baraka was detained.

“The Mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey this afternoon,” she wrote on X. “He has willingly chosen to disregard the law. That will not stand in this state. He has been taken into custody. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.”

The detention unfolded after Baraka, who is also running for governor, was apparently allowed inside a fenced parking lot at the facility and then later told to leave.

The three House members had been inside the facility and then came out with officers wearing gear that identified them variously as federal police, ICE and homeland security personnel. At one point, the three Democratic members, who had been seeking a tour of the facility, came out as authorities threatened to arrest Baraka. They all exited to a parking lot outside the fence where protesters had gathered.

The three members then reentered the fenced area, but Menendez quickly came back and warned Baraka that the authorities still wanted to arrest Baraka. When Menendez came to warn Baraka, he looked through the fence and told the mayor, “They are talking about coming out to arrest you.” (read more)