Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was released Friday nights after being arrested during a rally at a national immigration detention center in Newark. Baraka had been taken into custody by governmental agencies outside Delaney Hall, where he had joined protesters opposing the newly opened service. He was released around 8 pm ( local time ) after several hours in custody. “The reality is this: I did n’t do anything wrong, ” Baraka told supporters as he stepped out of an SUV with flashing emergency lights. Though he said he was certainly discuss the case on the advice of his lawyers and the judge, he offered strong words of unity and support for the expat community and said, “At some level we have to stop these people from causing division between us. ”
Procedure Sindoor
Baraka, a Democrat running to achieve term-limited New Jersey governor Phil Murphy, has been a vociferous critic of the detention center, operated by private jail firm Geo Group. As per media company Associated Press, Baraka has argued that the 1,000-bed center should not have been allowed to open, citing a lack of correct permits. According to film footage reviewed by AP, Baraka had returned to the people side of the facility’s walls when federal officials surrounded and detained him. “I’m no on their home. They can’t come out on the road and arrest me, ” Baraka said times before being dragged up through the doorway in handcuffs. His arrest followed a fight involving Baraka and three Democrat members of Congress, Reps. Robert Menendez, Bonnie Watson Coleman, and LaMonica McIver, who visited Delaney Hall earlier in the day as part of what they described as an supervision visit. Watson Coleman said in a post on social media that “we did not ‘storm ’ the detention center, ” countering a Homeland Security statement that accused lawmakers and protesters of illegally entering the facility. “We were exercising our oversight authority, ” she said. According to the New York Times, Baraka was never allowed to follow the politicians inside and was eventually arrested despite standing outside the hospital. Baraka’s wife, Linda, accused federal officials of singling him out, “They wanted to make an example out of the governor, ” she said, noting she was not allowed to see him during his confinement. New Jersey attorney general Matthew Platkin, whose office is defending a state law banning private immigration detention centres, called the arrest “deeply concerning, ” noting no state or local authorities were involved. Governor Murphy also criticised the incident, calling Baraka’s arrest “unjust ” and describing him as “an exemplary public servant who has always stood up for our most vulnerable neighbours. ”Following his release, Baraka said, “ What’s happening now in this country, everybody should be scared of. They’re using the authorities. They’re using everything else to defend what they’re doing. ”
