A federal magistrate judge in New Jersey on Wednesday reprimanded prosecutors for charging Democrat Newark Mayor Ras Baraka with trespassing at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center, two days after interim U.S. attorney Alina Habba announced the charge would be dropped.
During a hearing at U.S. District Court in Newark, Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa dismissed the federal complaint with prejudice, meaning it can't be brought again, The Hill reported. Espinosa then directed his wrath at U.S. attorney Stephen Demanovich, saying that even though Demanovich had acted appropriately throughout the case, as a representative of the U.S. attorney's office for New Jersey, he was responsible for hearing the message.
"Your role is not to secure convictions at all costs, nor to satisfy public clamor, nor to advance political agendas," said Espinosa, according to The Hill. "Your allegiance is to the impartial application of the law, to the pursuit of truth and to the upholding of due process for all."
Demanovich responded it is the goal "at all times" for the U.S. attorney's office to uphold justice and that he understood Espinosa's message.
Baraka, who is running to replace term-limited Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy, was arrested May 9 on a misdemeanor trespassing charge during a protest at ICE's Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark. He also was accused of ignoring warnings to leave the facility.
"The hasty arrest … followed swiftly by the dismissal of these trespassing charges a mere 13 days later, suggests a worrying misstep by your office," said Espinosa, according to the New Jersey Globe. "An arrest, particularly of a public figure, is not a preliminary investigative tool. It is a severe action, carrying significant reputational and personal consequences, and it should only be undertaken after a thorough, dispassionate evaluation of credible evidence."
The reprimand did not go unnoticed, according to the Globe. Baraka, on a hot mic after the hearing concluded, reacted: "Jesus, he tore these people a new [expletive]. Good grief." Baraka did not speak during the hearing, but his attorneys said the charge was politically motivated and baseless.
Habba said in a news release Monday that the charge against Baraka was being dropped "for the sake of moving forward." She also announced that Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., was being charged in connection with the protest at the ICE facility. McIver was accused by Habba of assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement, a charge which McIver has denied.
The ICE facility in Newark, which opened earlier this month, has become a flashpoint for protests involving President Donald Trump's efforts at border security through the mass deportation of violent illegal immigrants.
Baraka, an outspoken opponent of Trump's immigration policies, has been critical of the 1,100-bed facility since its planned reopening this year after being shuttered since 2017, the Globe reported. ICE signed a 15-year contract worth about $60 million a year with GEO Group, a private prison company that owns the facility.
There is an ongoing lawsuit between the city of Newark and GEO Group over the facility, and Baraka has claimed the building, refurbished to accommodate detainees, had not fulfilled the appropriate certificate of occupancy permits.
"The allegations made by Newark politicians that Delaney does not have the proper permitting are false," the Department of Homeland Security said May 10 in a statement. "We have valid permits, and inspections for plumbing and electricity, and fire codes have been cleared."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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