Newark Mayor Ras Baraka says officials fingerprinting him second time tried to 'humiliate' him

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said federal prosecutors tried to “humiliate and degrade” him by making him give his fingerprints and take a mug shot for a second time Thursday after a court appearance on a trespassing charge stemming from his arrest at an immigration detention center he was protesting.

Both Baraka, a Democrat seeking his party's nomination for governor, and interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba appeared in court for roughly 15-minute procedural hearing before Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa.

The hearing covered mostly scheduling for discovery in the case, which stemmed from an encounter Friday outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center.

Habba didn't speak during the hearing but sat behind assistant prosecutor Stephen Demanovich, who said the government disputed Baraka's claims that he committed no crime and was invited onto the facility's property.

Confusion over whether Baraka had been fingerprinted and processed after his arrest unfolded after the judge brought the proceedings to a close. As the parties began to walk away, the judge added that the mayor would need to be processed by the U.S. Marshals Service and that it would take 10 minutes. Baraka, looking confused, said he had already been processed after his arrest. The judge said “agents” had processed him but not the marshals.

“Let's go,” Baraka said, before indicating he would go with the marshals.

Speaking to a crowd of supporters outside court, Baraka addressed why it took him awhile to emerge from the building.

“They’re trying their best to humiliate and degrade me as much as they possibly can," he said. "I feel like what we did was completely correct. We did not violate any laws. We stood up for the Constitution of this country, the constitution of the state of New Jersey.”

A message seeking a response was sent Thursday to the U.S. attorney's office.

The trespassing charge against Baraka carries a maximum sentence of 30 days in prison. Espinosa said court rules permitted him to decide the matter himself as it was “petty offense,” but Baraka's attorneys said they wanted to reserve the right to have a jury trial.

One of Baraka's attorney's, Rahul Argawal, said the defense expected to seek to dismiss the charges because the mayor was arrested by federal agents on private property, calling it a “jurisdictional defect.” He added that it was a “selective prosecution" and that only the mayor had been arrested.

Demanovich said the government disputed that but didn't go into detail.

Witnesses had said the arrest last week came after Baraka attempted to join three members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation, Reps. Robert Menendez, LaMonica McIver, and Bonnie Watson Coleman, in attempting to enter the facility.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday decried the “spectacle” at the detention facility, calling it a “new low for congressional Democrats.” He said Republicans are discussing possible disciplinary action, including censuring the three Democrats or removing them from House committees.

Messages seeking comment Wednesday were left with the three Democrats.

Baraka has been an outspoken opponent of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and a vocal opponent of the facility’s opening. But he did not mention the president by name in comments outside court Thursday.

“People who went down there protesting have a right to do that. They have a right to do it and I have a right to talk to them,” he said.

Baraka had returned to the center Tuesday, but left without incident. It was not immediately clear how Baraka’s appearance at the gates Tuesday differed from Friday when he was arrested.

He has denied being on the detention facility’s property, which is run by private prison operator Geo Group.

In video of the Friday altercation shared with The Associated Press, a federal official in a jacket with the Homeland Security Investigations logo can be heard telling Baraka he could not enter because “you are not a Congress member.”

Baraka then left the secure area, rejoining protesters on the public side of the gate. Video showed him speaking through the gate to a man in a suit, who said: “They’re talking about coming back to arrest you.”

“I’m not on their property. They can’t come out on the street and arrest me,” Baraka replied.

Minutes later, several Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, some wearing face coverings, surrounded him and others on the public side. Baraka was dragged back through the gate in handcuffs.

On Thursday he said the officers who arrested him “treated me with respect.”

He added: “But at the end of the day I shouldn't have been in there.”

Delaney Hall is a two-story building next to a county prison and formerly operated as a halfway house. In February, Immigration and Customs Enforcement awarded a 15-year contract to The Geo Group Inc. to run the detention center.

A trial date wasn't set Thursday, but both parties agreed mid- to late July could work.

Associated Press writer Leah Askarinam in Washington contributed to this report.

Mayor Ras Baraka, center, leaves after speaking to supporters and media after a court appearance in Newark, N.J., Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Mayor Ras Baraka speaks to supporters and media after a court appearance in Newark, N.J., Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Mayor Ras Baraka, right, arrives to speak to supporters and media after a court appearance in Newark, N.J., Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Mayor Ras Baraka speaks to supporters and media after a court appearance in Newark, N.J., Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Mayor Ras Baraka speaks to supporters and media after a court appearance in Newark, N.J., Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka makes his point at the New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial primary debate at NJ PBS Studios, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (Steve Hockstein/NJ Advance Media via AP, Pool)

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka speaks to protesters outside of Delaney Hall, a recently re-opened immigration detention center, in Newark, N.J., Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

FILE - Newark mayor and gubernatorial candidate Ras Baraka speaks to reporters after a protest in front of of Delaney Hall, the proposed site of an immigrant detention center, in Newark, N.J., March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.

Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.

U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.

"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”

Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.

“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”

Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.

U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.

Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.

Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.

Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.

"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.

The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.

The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.

“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.

“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”

The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)