Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested Friday, May 9, at the Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Newark, and released later that evening on the orders of a federal magistrate judge.
Per The New York Times, New Jersey interim U.S. attorney Alina Habba said Baraka “committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the ICE detention center.” However, NJ.com reported, “Baraka and other city officials went to Delaney Hall to serve summonses on its private owner-operator, the GEO Group of Boca Ratón, Florida”, asserting that GEO refused to grant fire and code officials access to Delaney Hall and has placed a padlock on the gate, violating state law, and had refused to accept the summonses on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
In a joint statement, Maplewood Mayor Nancy Adams and South Orange Mayor Sheena Collum wrote that they “stand in firm and unapologetic solidarity with Mayor Ras Baraka, Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman, LaMonica McIver, Rob Menendez, and the courageous activists and city officials of Newark. We condemn in the strongest possible terms the unjust, politically motivated arrest of Mayor Baraka by federal authorities.”
The statement continues to state that Baraka was “fulfilling his legal duties as Mayor—working alongside city officials to issue summonses to the GEO Group, which has obstructed access to municipal inspectors. His arrest is a blatant abuse of power and a direct assault on civil liberties.”
“That federal agents who chose to detain an elected mayor during a peaceful protest in the presence of sitting members of Congress reveals a disturbing erosion of democratic norms and a disregard for local governance,” wrote Adams and Collum. “We join other elected officials and activists in demanding Mayor Baraka’s immediate release and insist that federal agencies respect state and local authority.
“We urge the residents of Maplewood, South Orange, and all of New Jersey to speak out, stay engaged, and stand united in the fight for justice, dignity, and human rights.”
Baraka participated in a forum for Democratic candidates for New Jersey governor on April 23 at The Woodland in Maplewood. The event was organized by SOMA Action, which sponsored the forum along with Maplewood Democratic Committee, the South Orange Democratic Committee, the West Orange Democratic Committee, and the Montclair Democrats.
Collum is running as Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop’s lieutenant governor pick in the Governor’s race — although she is not on the ballot for the primary. Adams is supporting U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) in the race.
NJ Democratic gubernatorial candidate Sean Spiller also released a statement on Baraka’s arrest. It read: “What we saw today at Delaney Hall goes beyond politics. It is about right and wrong. And that was wrong. To see Mayor Baraka taken out in cuffs because he wants to see with his own eyes – as Mayor of Newark – the conditions in Delaney Hall – that was wrong. As I have said many times over the past months, the Trump administration isn’t coming for someone else, they are coming for all of us. As an immigrant I can see myself in the people being detained and I would want to know people were looking out for me. They can try to pick us off one at a time, but we won’t let them. I’ll be at Delaney Hall tomorrow morning, and I call on all the other candidates in this race to join me in standing together for justice.”
Read more here:
- Dem Governor Candidates Discuss Black Maternal Health, Medicare for All, Immigration, Transportation
- AUDIO & TRANSCRIPT: Sherrill, Fulop, Baraka & Spiller Introduce Themselves to SOMA
- PHOTOS: 4 Democratic Candidates for NJ Governor Draw Packed House in Maplewood
Baraka, fourth from the left, at a Democratic Gubernatorial candidates forum on April 23, 2025 at The Woodland in Maplewood. Photo by Jamie Meier @livelovelens/SOMA Action. With Ritu Pancholy, Allison Posner, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair), Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, and NJEA President Sean Spiller.
