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Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka compared his arrest at a federal immigration center last week to the Bible's accounts of King David, telling a crowd at a political rally in his city Tuesday afternoon that it was "our David moment."
Baraka has repeatedly insisted he did nothing wrong, calling his tactics "absolutely effective" during a Democrat primary debate for the race for governor in New Jersey that took place Monday evening. He followed up the defense of his tactics Tuesday by comparing his arrest to the story of King David in the Bible.
"This is our David moment," Baraka told a crowd of several dozen supporters at a rally in his hometown on Tuesday. "Many of us miss our David moment because we [are] trying to run away from confrontation and controversy. But your crowd lives in the middle of controversy. The thing that has been promised to you is surrounded by high walls, and the gates are guarded by giants. If you're running from conflict and controversy, then you'll never get what's promised of you. This is our David moment."
Baraka told supporters that he physically could not have done anything to prevent his arrest at the immigration detention center on Friday, telling them his body "froze" involuntarily after being told he was going to be arrested for trespassing at the facility.
"When the congressman came to the gate and was like, 'Mayor, they said they're going to arrest you.' That was a David moment," Baraka said Tuesday. "I could have gotten in the car and ran. I could have said, 'I’m getting out of here, maybe they'll arrest me at work or at home or whatever.' But I froze. I froze – not even actively or deliberately – my body froze. My body – my body froze, like, 'This is it, you’re supposed to be here. Whatever they going to do, they going to do it.'"
Baraka's arrest occurred during a protest at Delaney Hall attended by three members of Congress, who said they were in attendance to perform their congressionally mandated oversight duties related to federal detention facilities.
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The three congressional lawmakers and Baraka were outside the facility with a group of protesters when the gates opened to allow an ICE bus in. All four officials then allegedly rushed through the gates and past security, according to officials from the Department of Homeland Security.
The arrest came as activists had been calling for access to the facility for days, which is a privately run facility that was revamped as an immigration detention facility this year.
In addition to comparing his debacle with federal authorities to King David, Baraka also made light of his arrest Tuesday, quipping that he was speaking to attendees at the rally Tuesday "as a returning citizen."
"Pardon me, ‘formerly incarcerated,’" Baraka said, garnering laughter from the crowd.
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"They told me I got to check in, and they ain't talking about the hood either," Baraka added. "I got to check in, I have to give them all my information, all this stuff, all my family's information. I mean, I'm making light of it, but it's real. I got to go to court Thursday. Are these people … serious? They're really trying to go forward with this and leverage it to make me be quiet."
Baraka confirmed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday that he was back at the detention facility Tuesday morning. The Newark mayor also confirmed that he participated in a pretrial intervention phone call ahead of a Thursday court hearing over the matter. Media reports have indicated that Baraka plans to plead not guilty.
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