Mid-July trial expected in Baraka case

Attorneys are seeking a mid-July trial in the federal government’s prosecution of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for allegedly trespassing at a migrant detention center last week. 

In a Thursday morning conference in Newark, attorneys for Baraka and prosecutors agreed to an approximate schedule for the case, according to the New Jersey Monitor. In a speech before protesters and press outside the courthouse, Baraka said he was targeted because of his stance against the newly reopened detention center in his city.

“We cannot arrest people simply because they disagree with us. We cannot target people because their political views are separate from ours. We cannot subjugate people, take their pictures, mugshots, and fingerprints, because we believe they’re opposed to our positions,” Baraka said. “That, ladies and gentlemen, is authoritarianism.”

A spokesperson for the mayor confirmed prosecutors are seeking a trial, with a mid-July date expected.

Baraka had shown up at Delaney Hall to demand entry to the migrant detention center, which he argues is operating illegally. After spending some time inside the gates of the facility, officers arrested Baraka, sparking a scuffle outside the fence. Federal law enforcement charged Baraka with trespassing Friday afternoon, with interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba alleging he “ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself.” He was released Friday night after about five hours in custody.

Habba entered the courthouse Thursday morning to chants of “shame” from protesters outside.

Baraka has maintained his innocence since his arrest and said the charge of trespassing should be dismissed. The mayor says he was invited onto the property by Delaney Hall officials and left when he was asked to. Baraka was not inside the gates of Delaney Hall when he was arrested, and federal police officers took him back onto the property to do so.

The mayor released footage Wednesday that appears to show Delaney Hall officials allowing him through the facility’s gates. In Thursday’s status conference, prosecutor Stephen Demanovich told the judge that prosecutors have evidence the mayor did not leave the premises when he was told to, according to the New Jersey Monitor’s Terrence McDonald.

Raymond Brown, one of the mayor’s attorneys, said the defense believes the government may not have had the jurisdictional authority to arrest Baraka.

“They had no more right to arrest him as they would have to arrest someone outside Buckingham Palace,” Brown said, according to a pool report.

Another of Baraka’s attorneys, Rahul Agarwal, said they believe Baraka was specifically targeted for arrest and accused the government of “selective prosecution.” Agarwal said the defense would likely file motions challenging the jurisdiction of the arrest and the “selective prosecution.”

The mayor said federal authorities are targeting immigrants of color specifically. He pointed to how the Trump administration granted refugee status to Afrikaners, the white South African minority group that once perpetrated apartheid, while deporting migrants of color

“These people take away temporary protective status from hundreds of people, send them wherever they want to send them, even places that are not even a country of their origin,” Baraka said. “And then take a plane to South Africa and bring Afrikaners here.”

Baraka said his fingerprints and mugshot were again taken after the conference. The mayor, a Democratic candidate for governor, did not take questions.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not immediately return a request for comment.

The ACLU of New Jersey disavowed Baraka’s arrest.

“It’s clear that the Trump administration is trying to silence opposition through fear. But New Jersey will not be intimidated by authoritarianism,” ACLU-NJ Executive Director Amol Sinha said in a release.

Thursday’s meeting was originally set to be a pre-trial hearing, but federal judge Andre M. Espinosa changed the hearing to a more informal status conference.

Baraka was joined by Reps. LaMonica McIver (D-Newark), Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing) outside Delaney Hall on Friday to demand access to the facility to perform oversight. The three members of Congress, who possess federal oversight privileges, were allowed into the facility. Still, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said last week the trio could face arrest. The DHS has also claimed that the three representatives “stormed” the facility, even though federal law protects the ability of members of Congress to inspect federal facilities like Delaney Hall.

The City of Newark is suing GEO Group, arguing the company doesn’t possess the needed permits and certificates to operate the facility. GEO Group officials have said the company retains a valid certificate of occupancy and accused the mayor of political grandstanding. The lawsuit is ongoing in federal court.

Federal immigration authorities in February signed a 15-year contract to use the 1,100-bed facility for about $60 million per year. The facility opened May 1, about a month ahead of initial estimates.

Baraka said he’ll continue the fight against Delaney Hall and for immigrants in his city.

“I saw a post that said we were defending immigrants and not people from Newark,” he said. “But that statement is an oxymoron, because immigrants are people from Newark.”

This article was updated with courtroom comments from Baraka’s attorneys.