The Department of Homeland Security released body camera footage Saturday of federal officers arresting the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.
DHS blurred the faces of those captured on camera.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested on Friday for allegedly illegally entering and staying on Delaney Hall property. He was detained for several hours before being released and charged with trespassing.
More arrests possible after Newark ICE facility conflict, DHS official says
In a press release, the DHS accused Congressmembers Bonnie Watson Coleman and Robert Menendez Jr. of illegally storming the gate and entering the facility.
Tricia McLaughlin, DHS’s assistant secretary of public affairs, told CNN that an investigation is underway and that additional arrests may be forthcoming.
“We actually have body camera footage of some of these members of Congress assaulting our ICE enforcement officers, including body-slamming a female ICE officer, so we will be showing that to viewers very shortly,” according to McLaughlin.
“The notion that I or any of my colleagues ‘body slammed’ armed federal officers is absurd,” Watson Coleman said in a post on X.
“Nobody from ICE was slammed to the ground. We did not storm the place. So it’s all a lie,” Baraka explained.
The mayor resisted, claiming he was invited to the ICE facility and stayed for over an hour.
“Someone allowed me to enter. I did not climb a fence. “I didn’t kick down the door,” Baraka explained.
He claims no one spoke to him while he was on the property, but Alina Habba, the interim United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, stated on X that the mayor ignored multiple warnings to leave.
Baraka characterized his arrest as humiliating, stressful, and depressing.
“They decided to arrest me.” They decided to violate me. They decided to humiliate me by handcuffing me and instructing the crowd to take me to the ground. “Thank goodness the Office of Homeland Security didn’t do that,” he stated.
The mayor stated that he was treated with dignity and respect while in custody, and he fully cooperated.
Rally held to support Mayor Ras Baraka after arrest
On Saturday, dozens of people rallied in New York City’s Foley Square to support Baraka.
“What happened to Mayor Baraka yesterday is wrong, distressing, and calls for action,” speaker Sienna Fontaine stated.
“If they can do that to elected officials, none of us are safe,” supporter Sarah Birnbam stated.
The mayor’s opponents in the New Jersey governor’s race also defended him.
“The good news is that he’s out. But the bad news is that there are plenty of others who aren’t, and I believe the point is that we all need to stand together and continue to fight,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer said.
Baraka stated that he will continue his fight against the company that operates the ICE facility, calling it dangerous and illegal.
“We didn’t inspect it thoroughly. We have not been in it. So we have to say it’s dangerous,” he explained.
Baraka stated that his visit to Delaney Hall was not about immigration, but rather to demand that the contractor obtain an updated certificate of occupancy.
“They have one from 20 years ago and they’re standing on that, and we’re saying you have to get a new one every year,” he told me.
“We have the proper permits. We’ve undergone proper inspections. “It’s a joke,” McLaughlin explained on CNN.
DHS claims that the facility’s permits are valid and have been cleared.