Ras Baraka, the Democratic mayor of Newark, New Jersey, and a candidate for governor, appeared in federal court Thursday for a status conference after being arrested at an ICE facility last week on a trespassing charge.
“We believe that I was targeted in this,” Baraka told reporters after his court date that discussed the charge against him after he was arrested at the Delaney Hall facility last week.
“I was the only person arrested. That’s right. You know, I was the only person identified. I was the only person, you know, they put in a cell. You know, the only person, I think that was in cuffs to the whole process that’s here this morning, going through this humiliation for these people.”
In court, Baraka’s defense team contested his arrest and declined to take a plea deal while arguing that the government has not provided enough evidence to prove that he was lawfully arrested.
New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ras Baraka was arrested on Friday for trespassing at an ICE holding facility in Newark during a protest. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig and Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The defense had been hoping to go to trial by late July, but the judge said there may be aggressive discovery and time is needed to set a trial schedule.
Both the prosecution and defense will submit a schedule for the court’s consideration and no next date has been set. The defense requested all exculpatory evidence be provided by May 19 and discovery by May 22, which both parties agreed to.
The trespassing charge against Baraka, a class C misdemeanor, has a statutory maximum sentence of 30 days in prison.
Dozens of protesters gathered outside the federal court building where several activists railed against the arrest of Baraka during a protest at Delaney Hall attended by three members of Congress, who said they were in attendance to perform their congressionally-mandated oversight duties related to federal detention facilities.
“Newark has become an epicenter for ICE’s terror and overreach,” Viri Martinez, manager of member empowerment at New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, told the crowd outside the court.
AGITATORS CLASH WITH POLICE, ARRESTS MADE AS CLERGY MEMBERS DESCEND ON NEWARK ICE FACILITY
Security personnel stand in front of Delaney Hall, a recently re-opened immigration detention center, in Newark, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
“They tried their best to humiliate me and degrade me, you know, as much as they possibly can,” Baraka said after the court proceeding, explaining that he was fingerprinted and his mug shot was taken in the basement of the court.
“But, I still feel. I still I feel like what we did was completely correct. Yes. We did not violate any laws. We stood up for the Constitution of this country, the Constitution, the state of New Jersey. And we stood up for the local laws, that were put together by the people of this city. And by the people of this state.”
The three congressional lawmakers and Baraka were outside the ICE facility last week with a group of protesters when the gates opened to allow an ICE bus in. All four officials then allegedly rushed through the gates and past security, according to officials from the Department of Homeland Security.
The arrest came as activists had been calling for access to the facility for days, which is a privately run facility that was revamped as an immigration detention facility this year.
Mayor Ras Baraka joins citizens in the unveiling of a new Harriet Tubman memorial, March 9, 2023, in downtown Newark, New Jersey. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
“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,” U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba, who was present at the courtroom on Thursday, posted on social media after Baraka’s arrest.
Protesters could be heard shouting “Shame, shame, shame” at Habba as she entered the courtroom.
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House Republicans are warning that consequences are in store for the three Democratic members of Congress who accompanied Baraka at the protest.
“Look, there’s three possible disciplinary actions in Congress that the House can take,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters at his weekly press conference Wednesday regarding Reps. Robert Menendez, LaMonica McIver and Bonnie Watson Coleman.
Fox News Digital’s Sandy Ibrahim contributed to this report