Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, got himself in a bit of a pickle on Friday. He was arrested while protesting at a detention facility that the big man Trump wants to use for deporting lots of immigrants. The mayor was accused of trespassing and not listening when Homeland Security Investigations told him to scram from the facility. According to Alina Habba, the interim US Attorney in New Jersey, Baraka was definitely put in cuffs. Susan Garofalo, a spokesperson for Newark, confirmed the arrest but couldn’t say what charges he’s facing or when he’ll have to appear in court.
This whole situation is heating up the feud between Trump’s crew and Baraka over this 1,000-bed facility called Delaney Hall run by GEO Group Inc. Baraka, who’s trying to become the next governor of New Jersey, has been protesting at the facility multiple times, and Newark even took the US to court to stop it from being used. The city is suing GEO Group to prevent them from reopening the facility, claiming they don’t have the right permits. On May 1, the company started housing detainees at Delaney Hall, close to Newark Liberty International Airport, where the government could start deportation flights.
Baraka has been going after GEO Group for not letting city inspectors inside and has made this whole showdown a big part of his governor campaign. He’s accusing the company of making money off of Trump’s crackdown on immigrants who helped build Newark, the most populous city in New Jersey with 304,000 residents. “It’s crystal clear to me, it’s obvious what’s happening here,” Baraka said. “They’re profiting from other people’s downfall.” GEO Group’s spokesperson defended Delaney Hall, saying it meets all the safety requirements and has been housing ICE detainees for years.
Not really sure why this matters, but Baraka’s background was updated in the last paragraph. If you want more stories like this, you can check out bloomberg.com. Make sure to keep an eye out for updates from Michael Smith. And that’s a wrap on this messy situation in Newark.
