The Democrat mayor of New Jersey's largest city, a candidate for governor, is set to go on trial in mid-July on charges related to a confrontation this month at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka appeared in federal court Thursday for a preliminary hearing, his first court appearance since his May 9 arrest on a trespassing charge at the Delaney Hall Detention Center, multiple media outlets reported.
He also has been accused of ignoring warnings to leave the facility. He was released from custody later that night. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.
Baraka, who is running to replace term-limited Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy, said he was fingerprinted and photographed for a second time when he reported to federal court in Newark for the brief procedural hearing on his trespassing charge, WABC-TV in New York reported. He did not enter a plea.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa said he will likely set a trial for "mid to late July," while also saying he expects it to be held this summer, according to Bloomberg.
"Today, the U.S. Attorney General's office chose to move forward with a trial over trespassing charges at Delaney Hall," Baraka wrote in a post on X. "While the charges are unwarranted, we will fight this. Grateful to everyone who showed up in support. This is bigger than me. It's about all of us."
Newsmax reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.
Alina Habba, the interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey who was at the hearing but did not speak, addressed the arrest in a May 9 post on X.
"The Mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey this afternoon," Habba wrote. "He has willingly chosen to disregard the law. That will not stand in this state. He has been taken into custody. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW."
The ICE facility in Newark has become a flashpoint for protests involving President Donald Trump's efforts at border security through the mass deportation of violent illegal immigrants. It is set to play a significant role in ICE's efforts to expand its detention capacity as it ramps up arrests nationwide of illegal immigrants.
Baraka's arrest came during a protest in which three New Jersey Democrat House members – Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Robert Menendez Jr., and LaMonica McIver – stormed a security gate and entered the facility as a bus of detained illegal immigrants arrived. The lawmakers said they were there to conduct oversight and have denied accusations from the Department of Homeland Security that they assaulted ICE agents.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin reportedly said last week there was an "ongoing investigation" and that arresting the lawmakers is "definitely on the table."
Baraka, an outspoken opponent of Trump's immigration policies, has been critical of the 1,100-bed Delaney Hall Detention Center for months, including a March appearance where social justice activists joined him, NorthJersey.com reported.
Baraka said the building, refurbished to accommodate detainees, had not fulfilled the appropriate certificate of occupancy permits, and vowed to oppose its reopening.
"The allegations made by Newark politicians that Delaney does not have the proper permitting are false," DHS said May 10 in a statement. "We have valid permits, and inspections for plumbing and electricity, and fire codes have been cleared."