Judge Axes Charges Against Ras Baraka, Blasts Feds
On Wednesday (May 21), a federal judge formally dismissed charges against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka brought against him by interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba’s office after he was arrested outside of the Delaney Hall immigration center earlier this month. U.S Magistrate Judge André Espinosa made the ruling in an afternoon hearing, blasting the federal government’s “embarassing” action in filing, then retracting the charges.
“An arrest of a public figure is not a preliminary investigative tool. It is a severe action,” Espinosa said while delivering the dismissal. “Federal prosecutors serve a single paramount client: justice itself,” he added., continuing: “Your role is not to secure convictions at all costs, nor to satisfy public clamor, nor to advance political agendas. Your allegiance is to the impartial application of the law, to the pursuit of truth, and to the upholding of due process for all.”
Mayor Baraka was at Delaney Hall with New Jersey congressional Democrats Rob Menendez, Bonnie Watson Coleman, and LaMonica McIver protesting the administration’s detaining and deportation policies along with the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. He was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor by Habba’s office. According to The Washington Post, Habba listened in to the hearing but opted not to speak. Espinosa also called out Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Demanovich, who was present in the courtroom, for hearing of the government’s request to drop the charges through news reports rather than it being brought to him directly.
Espinosa wasn’t done chastizing the federal government. “The apparent rush in this case, culminating today in the embarrassing retraction of charges, suggests a failure to adequately investigate,” he said. “Your office must operate with a higher standard than that.” Afterward,
Mayor Baraka declined to speak to the press, letting his attorneys talk on his behalf. “If this matter had proceeded to trial, we feel confident that Mayor Baraka would be vindicated,” said Rahul Agarwal, one of his laywers. “We have believed from the outset that these charges did not and would not survive scrutiny.”
Habba’s office filed charges against Representative McIver on Tuesday on two counts of assaulting, resisting and impeding an officer. If convicted, she faces eight years in prison for each charge. McIver has denounced the charges as “purely political.” She was present for a hearing earlier on Wednesday, with another preliminary hearing set for June 11.
