NJ Mayor: Videos Show I Didn’t ‘Storm’ ICE Detention Center (WATCH)

NEWARK, NJ — He didn’t “storm” Delaney Hall. That’s the word from Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who says video footage backs up his claim that he didn’t trespass at a controversial ICE detention center in New Jersey.

On Wednesday, Baraka released video footage taken of his arrest at Delaney Hall on May 9 (watch it below).

Baraka – a candidate for New Jersey governor – said the footage should dispel claims from federal authorities, who have accused him of trespassing and ignoring warnings to leave the prison grounds.

“These videos make it clear that Delaney Hall personnel opened the gate for me, and allowed me to enter the property, as well as my calm and respectful departure when asked to leave,” Baraka said.

“None of my actions were orchestrated or preconceived, and this arrest occurred because I was specifically targeted by this administration,” he added.

Officials with ICE announced plans to reopen Delaney Hall earlier this year. The 1,000-bed facility is the first federal detention center to open under President Donald Trump’s second term. It is run by the GEO Group, one of the largest private prison companies in the world. The move allows ICE to expand its detention and deportation capacity in the Northeast region of the country.

ICE started housing detainees at Delaney Hall on May 1.

The mayor has accused ICE of opening the facility without the necessary permits and refusing to allow city inspectors into the prison.

Homeland Security officials also said the allegations that Delaney Hall does not have the proper permitting are “false.”

“We have valid permits, and inspections for plumbing and electricity, and fire codes have been cleared,” officials recently claimed, releasing a list of some of the detainees who are currently incarcerated at the facility.

Pro-immigration activists have been holding a series of protests outside Delaney Hall over the past two weeks – including a demonstration on the day that Baraka was arrested. Another rally is being planned for Thursday at 9 a.m. outside the courthouse at 50 Walnut Street in Newark, where the mayor is scheduled to appear.

• See Related: More Arrests At ICE Prison In New Jersey After Mayor Taken Into Custody

Supporters and detractors of the mayor have been sharing conflicting accounts of what happened at Delaney Hall on May 9.

Alina Habba, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, has accused Baraka of trespassing and ignoring multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the scene.

“He has willingly chosen to disregard the law,” the Trump-appointed federal prosecutor said. “That will not stand in this state. He has been taken into custody.”

“No one is above the law,” Habba insisted.

“My office is undertaking a thorough investigation in coordination with our federal agency partners of what transpired at Delaney Hall,” Habba reported Monday. “As is true of every investigation this office handles, all available evidence will be thoroughly reviewed prior to making a determination on how to proceed.”

“I do not take these matters lightly,” she added.

Baraka has challenged the claim that he “willingly chose to disregard the law.”

On Wednesday, the mayor shared a key clip of video footage, which he said shows the moment that he was “invited” into Delaney Hall.

“Nobody was kicking or shoving like the coverage suggests,” he said. “We were invited in.”

Baraka also released additional video footage, which shows him exiting the facility and being arrested.

Baraka isn’t the only lawmaker who has been accused of “storming” Delaney Hall that day.

Three Congress members from New Jersey – Reps. LaMonica McIver, Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez Jr. – also visited Delaney Hall on May 9, demanding entry to carry out their “oversight authority” and inspect the situation firsthand.

Homeland Security officials accused the lawmakers of “storming the gate” and breaking into the detention facility, sharing video footage from the scene and encouraging viewers to “check the tape.”

“Yes, check the tape,” Baraka insisted. “The aggression was from the people in masks, hiding their identity. And the whole world has seen it.”

Here’s what Watson Coleman had to say about the incident:

“Since DHS has been lying about this, allow me to correct the record. This scuffle, during which an ICE agent physically shoved me, occurred after we had entered the Delaney Hall premises. We entered the facility, came back out to speak to the mayor, and then ICE agents began shoving us. This is not how we entered the facility. We were escorted in by guards, because we have lawful oversight authority to be there.”

“Here’s the moment my colleagues and I were let into Delaney Hall,” Watson Coleman wrote, sharing a video clip of her own.

The congresswoman released another video clip, saying it shows the moment when Baraka “calmly” leaves the premises after being asked.

“The scuffle at the gate happened after when we came back out and ICE moved to arrest the mayor on public property,” Watson Coleman continued. “How did we ‘break in’ when we were already allowed inside?”

“The idea we ‘stormed’ a heavily guarded federal detention center is absurd – just more lies from the most dishonest administration in history,” she charged.

McIver claimed that ICE agents “shoved me” and “manhandled” Watson Coleman.

“They disrespected us and tried to stop us from conducting the oversight we’re elected to do,” said McIver, a former city council president in Newark. “But we’ll never back down in our fight for what is right.”

Menendez agreed.

“No matter what this administration tells the American people, the law is very clear: members of Congress have a legal right to enter any DHS detention facility to conduct oversight without prior notice – something I’ve done twice this year without issue,” he said.

Meanwhile, officials with Homeland Security continue to insist that what happened at Delaney Hall on May 9 was a "political stunt" – adding that it was also “lawless” and endangered people at the scene.

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