Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark, New Jersey, released; Vows to continue defending immigrants; Hails protesters
Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark, the largest city in New Jersey, United States of America (USA), who was arrested Friday by agents of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Newark has been released to cheers by protesters who had stayed back in solidarity with him after he was handcuffed and taken into custody.
US Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Alina Habba, in a post on X had alleged that Baraka, a frontrunner in the upcoming governorship election in the state had trespassed and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations officials to remove himself from the ICE detention center where he was arrested.
Eyewitnesses, including New Jersey Democratic Party members of Congress — Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rob Menendez and LaMonica McIver — however denied the truth of the allegations against Mayor Baraka.
The Mayor, who denounced the immigration policies of the President Donald Trump administration while addressing the chanting crowd that waited for his release, commended the protesters for their resilience, promised to continue to do right by immigrants and urged those who had refused to leave the vicinity till they saw him released, to return to their homes.
