(Bloomberg) — Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, faces up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine if he’s convicted of a misdemeanor charge of trespassing during a protest at a private detention facility that’s a key part of President Donald Trump’s plans for mass deportations.
Baraka, 55, was charged with a state trespassing offense occurring on property in federal jurisdiction, according to a transcript released Monday of a court hearing held virtually on Friday night. Baraka, who denies wrongdoing, is a Democratic candidate for governor.
On Friday, Alina Habba, Trump’s appointee as interim US Attorney in New Jersey, said Baraka “committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself” from the 1,000-bed Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark.
“He has willingly chosen to disregard the law,” Habba said in a post on X. “That will not stand in this state.”
US Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa released Baraka without making him post bail. He set a May 15 preliminary hearing, a sort of mini-trial where prosecutors can present evidence and witnesses to try to show probable cause that Baraka committed a crime.
At the hearing, defense lawyer Raymond M. Brown urged Espinosa to admonish prosecutors for statements made outside of court by Habba and Homeland Security officials that criticized Baraka. Espinosa said prosecutors must “heed carefully to the rules of professional conduct” on “the boundaries of propriety for public comment related to an ongoing investigation and/or prosecution.”
The judge said the prosecutor appearing before him, Desiree Grace, who is Habba’s second-in-command, has always acted appropriately, including in the Baraka matter.
Baraka has protested repeatedly in recent weeks at Delaney Hall, which operator GEO Group Inc. recently reopened. In February, the US awarded the company a 15-year contract to detain immigrants in the facility, a deal the company values at more than $1 billion. Newark has sued to block GEO, saying it doesn’t have proper permits.
In a statement after Baraka spent five hours in custody, his lawyers said he “acted throughout with calm, restraint, and dignity.” Still, Habba “repeatedly made inaccurate, inflammatory, and unfair public statements,” they said.
“It is difficult not to conclude from the government’s actions that it was less concerned with unlawful conduct than with advancing its political and policy agenda by any means possible,” they said.
Three Democratic House members, Rob Menendez, Bonnie Watson Coleman and LaMonica McIver, were also at the protest but were not arrested. Over the weekend, Homeland Security officials said they could be charged. They also deny wrongdoing.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
