A federal judge devastated the Department of Justice after the mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, was beaten with transfer charges in an immigration detention center, only so that the Department of Justice would rey the days later and remove the charges.

“The hurried arrest of the mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, quickly followed by the dismissal of these intrusion charges of only 13 days later, suggests a false worrying step on the part of his office,” said Judge Judge Andre Espinosa to federal prosecutors during a hearing on Wednesday.

Baraka was arrested earlier this month while trying to visit a new ice detention center for immigrants and slapped with charges for minor crimes.

“The reality is this: I did nothing bad,” Baraka told his followers after being released from custody.

The Department of Justice apparently agreed, and the US prosecutor for the New Jersey district, Alina Haba, said he would leave the charges against Baraka.

The mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, speaks with the followers and the media after an appearance in the court in Newark, New Jersey, on May 15, 2025.
The mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, speaks with the followers and the media after an appearance in the court in Newark, New Jersey, on May 15, 2025.

AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Espinosa granted the request to dismiss the positions on Wednesday, but described the actions of the “shameful” department of justice.

“The apparent career in this case, which culminated today in the shameful retraction of the positions, suggests a failure to properly investigate,” said Espinosa. “Your office must operate with a higher standard than that.”

While the charges have been withdrawn against Baraka, Haba has accused the Lamonica representative McIver (Dn.J.) of assaulting two ice agents during the clash of May 9 outside the detention center. Federal prosecutors argue that McIver tried to stop Baraka’s arrest by pushing and grabbing national security and ice agents. McIver has denied the charges.

“I went to an ICE installation in my district to carry out supervision because that is my work and my legal right as a member of the Congress,” McIver wrote in a fundraising email.

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The charges against McIver have a maximum sentence of up to eight years in prison, prosecutors said.