Newark NJ Mayor Ras Baraka was among a group of Democrats who were arrested after storming an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center and refusing to leave.

Many people believe the mayor intended to get arrested as a stunt to assist his campaign for governor of the Garden State, and US Attorney for New Jersey, Alina Habba, is one of them.

“Alina, their description of what happened—they said the mayor was outside the fence and he was taken away by 20 armed individuals, and they were all intimidated by federal officials on the property. What do you say?” Fox News host Martha MacCallum said when she appeared on Friday.

“I will say the truth and correct them. I’m sorry you’re trying to politicize this, but let me be clear. Congresspeople have the right to investigate, and we allowed them in—number one,” the U.S. attorney said.

“Number two, the mayor was inside the facility and was warned and asked to leave several times—more than once. He refused to leave, was put under arrest inside the facility, walked out when he was told he was under arrest, and then was cuffed. That’s what happened,” Habba said.

“Thanks to our team who I stand behind—who many people don’t understand, the Department of Justice encompasses that. They did everything correctly,” she said.

“If you look at the individual Twitter accounts, they have been openly saying they will go in. There’s a reason the congresspeople are standing out there running amok and running their mouths as usual. But I will tell you this: the mayor was inside and told he would be under arrest inside when he refused to leave after several notifications that he should remove himself. He chose not to do so and then was placed under arrest when he walked out of the facility,” the former attorney for President Donald Trump.

Habba: I can confirm that we have put the Mayor under arrest..

MacCallum: He’s in custody?

Habba: Yes pic.twitter.com/1dLaAXWDVy

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 9, 2025

“So while I love this game, the game and the tactics of the individuals that are perfectly fine and were not touched,” she said.

“They were not assaulted? None of them were assaulted? That is what they said. They looked fine. But I’m asking in terms of what happened in there—it is very striking, especially after having read the list of at least some of the people in this facility. And I’m trying to figure out exactly what they are doing to protect people,” the host said.

“It’s called grandstanding, unfortunately,” Habba said.

“When you break the law, there’s no grandstanding that will help you,” she said.