Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark speaks to the press near ICE agents at a demonstration outside an immigrant detention centre in Elizabeth, New Jersey May 7, 2025.
Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested Friday for allegedly trespassing inside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in his city, New Jersey’s interim top prosecutor said.
Baraka “committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings” from Department of Homeland Security officials who told him to leave the facility, alleged Alina Habba, the interim U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey.
“He has willingly chosen to disregard the law. That will not stand in this state. He has been taken into custody,” Habba, a former defense attorney for President Donald Trump, wrote on X.
“NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW,” she added.
Baraka is a Democrat running for governor of New Jersey. Kabir Moss, a spokesman for Baraka’s gubernatorial campaign, confirmed the arrest at the facility known as Delaney Hall, NBC News reported.
At least three U.S. House Democrats from New Jersey were also at the detention center on Friday, according to an X post from Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman.
Baraka’s office did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
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