Newark Mayor Ras Baraka due in court Thursday to face trespassing charge at ICE detention facility
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka is scheduled to appear in court Thursday after being arrested last week outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility.
Friday's heated confrontation at Delaney Hall was captured on body cam video.
Baraka faces trespassing charges. He told CBS News New York on Saturday he was supporting members of Congress who showed up at the facility. Over the weekend, ICE suggested some of those members could face charges, but none have been filed yet.
"We actually have body camera footage of some of these members of Congress assaulting our ICE enforcement officers, including body-slamming a female ICE officer, so we will be showing that to viewers very shortly," said Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary of public affairs for DHS.
"Nobody from ICE was slammed on the ground. We didn't storm the place. So it's, all of it is a lie," Baraka said. "Somebody allowed me to go in. I didn't climb a fence. I didn't kick the door down."
"First of all, I didn't see anybody slamming. I was very focused on trying to shield the mayor," Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman said. "They were shoving up on all of us."
"They made a decision to humiliate me"
Baraka, who is running for governor, was held for four hours after he was taken into custody Friday before being released.
"They made a decision to humiliate me, to put me in cuffs and told the people to take me to the ground. Thank God the Office of Homeland Security didn't do that," he said.
U.S. Attorney Alina Habba said an investigation is ongoing.
Watson Coleman was asked if she is concerned about facing any charges. She said she had the right to come unannounced as a member of Congress.
"I am concerned they possible can and if they do, we'll be ready. I am going to be lawfully ready, but I don't see why they should come after any of us," she said.
Congresswoman LaMonica McIver, who is also seen on the body came video, did not immediately respond to CBS News New York's request for comment.
Dozens of clergy members block the gates at Delaney Hall
Delaney Hall was opened less than two weeks ago by the Trump Administration. ICE says it can hold up to 1,000 detainees. Right now, it only has 152 inside. ICE says 75% of them have criminal convictions or pending criminal convictions. ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons gave CBS News an inside look.
"At this facility here in New Jersey, they do have due process. We were just walking through. You saw detention areas. Those doors aren't locked. They can come in and out of their dormitory rooms," Lyons said.
But concerns continue to grow on the outside.
A group of clergy members started blocking the gates Monday at the detention center in response to the arrest of Baraka. Around 50 stood arm-and-arm, demanding to know the names of people they say are being detained inside.
"We will not allow a police state to take us," one said.
"We have family members who came yesterday to visit their loved ones and right now we don't know where they are," Ana Paola Pazmino said.
At one point when the gates opened to get cars out, the protesters tried to barge onto the facility grounds but were blocked by ICE agents and police officers.
"We want to know the conditions in there. We want to know do people have enough beds. Are people having ACs in inside because it's hot. Do people have enough food because there are violations. This is happening in detention centers across the U.S. and we know this one is not going to be any better," said Rosa Santana of the Envision Freedom Fund.
