The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday (May 5) dropped the illegal entry charges against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka at Delaney Hall, New Jersey. A U.S. federal magistrate judge on Wednesday (19st) severely criticized the Justice Department's practice of "quickly filing an indictment and then dropping the charges", believing that the move constituted a "worrying mistake."
It is understood that the incident began on the 9th of this month when Baraka and three Democratic federal congressmen visited the Delaney Detention Center of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in New Jersey. Baraka was arrested by federal law enforcement officers on the grounds of illegal trespassing and the scene was in chaos for a while. However, New Jersey Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced on the 19th that the charges would be dropped.
According to media reports, U.S. federal district judge Andre Espinosa presided over a hearing on the case on the 21st. At the meeting, he criticized the Department of Justice's approach, saying that the arrest showed an "obvious rush to prosecute" and ultimately led to the U.S. government's "embarrassing withdrawal of charges." He also stressed that "your responsibility is not to seek convictions at any cost, to satisfy public pressure or to promote a political agenda, but to enforce the law impartially, to pursue the truth and to uphold due process."
In response to the judge's criticism, Stephen Demanovich, a lawyer for the Department of Justice, said that the prosecutor's office "has always been committed to upholding justice" and understood the judge's reminder; Baraka's lawyer Raymond Brown said, "The mayor did not commit a crime at all, and we are pleased with the result this time."
Although Baraka's charges were dropped, his fellow New Jersey Democratic Congressman McIver(LaMonica McIver) faces another charge. According to the criminal complaint, she was charged with assaulting a police officer after "forearming the immigration officer with her forearm" while trying to prevent Baraka from being arrested. However, McIver strongly denied the accusation, emphasizing that "this incident should have been a simple, peaceful visit, but it got out of control due to the excessive reaction of federal law enforcement officers."
