Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka, who was arrested for trespassing while protesting at a federal immigration facility last week, said Monday during a televised gubernatorial debate that his actions were “absolutely” an effective way to protest the president’s immigration clampdown.

Baraka has denied he did anything wrong despite federal authorities arresting him for trespassing at the Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark on Friday. 

During Monday’s debate among Democrat candidates in New Jersey’s open governor’s race, he doubled down on the assertion he did nothing wrong. 

“We haven’t interfered with federal law enforcement,” Baraka said early on in the debate when moderators turned their questioning to Friday’s incident at the ICE detention facility in Newark. “We didn’t go down there to protest. We actually went down there to have a press conference. And the Congress has oversight. And they began to exercise their oversight. It was escalated by Homeland Security. They made an arrest because they got a call to do so. And that’s what happened.”

WHO IS THE DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE ARRESTED FOR TRESPASSING AT AN ICE DETENTION CENTER?

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. The three lawmakers were outside the facility with a group of protesters when the gates opened to allow an ICE bus in. The lawmakers then 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.  

“We’re not asking for anything that’s incorrect. We ask them to obey our laws,” Baraka said after the incident. “To obey the policies and rules here in the city and the state of New Jersey, not to run roughshod over the Constitution of the United States, the Bill of Rights, the Fourth, the Fifth, the Fourteenth Amendment and everybody on this soil who deserves due process.”

NEWARK MAYOR SPEAKS AFTER BEING RELEASED FROM HSI FACILITY

During Monday night’s debate, the other gubernatorial candidates were asked if they thought Baraka’s tactics were “effective” the same way he does and whether they would have done things differently. While, for the most part, all the candidates tip-toed around the question, instead choosing to tout their bona fides in supporting immigration and challenging President Donald Trump, some did express support for Baraka.

“I’m not saying I would do anything differently,” said Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the four-term Democrat representing the state’s 11th Congressional District. “I don’t think the mayor was trespassing. In talking to my congressional colleagues, he was invited in. They asked him to leave, he left, and then he got arrested.”

New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer, left, and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka discuss issues at the New Jersey Democrat gubernatorial primary debate on May 12, 2025. (Steve Hockstein/NJ Advance Media via AP, Pool)

“Ras didn’t do anything wrong,” Steve Fluop, the mayor of Jersey City and another candidate for New Jersey governor, said in direct response to the moderators’ question about whether they agreed with Baraka’s tactics. 

The rest of the candidates did not directly answer the question before the moderators moved on to the next topic.

But questions arising from this messy incident are not so easily swept away — although Wu is trying to do just that.

Huang was the neighborhood business manager for the Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion, at a salary of $70,469. Khudaynazar was chief of staff for the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency, at a salary of $83,769.

The two were arrested and charged last week after police responded to a call from an apartment in Chinatown, where Khudaynazar told police she bit Huang in self-defense because he wouldn’t let go of her wrists, according to a Globe account of the police report. When police began to arrest Huang, Khudaynazar said, “I don’t want that, I was lying, I was lying.…I bit him,” according to the report.

She then allegedly tried to close the door, while telling police, “we both work for the city of Boston, we both work for the mayor’s office.” At one point, Khudaynazar allegedly began to hit an officer on the chest while shouting obscenities. Huang also allegedly told police, “We both work for the city, this is unnecessary.”

Khudaynazar was charged with assault and battery on a police officer and assault and battery on a household member. Huang was charged with assault and battery on a household member. Both pleaded not guilty at their arraignments.

Citing police reports, several media outlets, including the Boston Herald, also reported that Khudaynazar allegedly told police that Huang was cheating on her and she went on a date with his boss. Huang also allegedly told responding officers that Khudaynazar and his boss “booked a hotel room and she came here to rub it in my face.”

The boss referred to has not been named in any reports. But City Councilor Ed Flynn has called for the resignation of Segun Idowu, the city’s chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion, who oversees the office for which Huang works. In an interview, Flynn said he is also calling for an independent investigation into the incident in order “to restore public trust.”

Josh Kraft, who is challenging Wu in the mayor’s race, has called for Wu to release the internal report and to disclose whether the fired workers are receiving severance payments. Kraft has also called upon Wu to disclose Idowu’s “role” in the incident.

Put aside the obvious political motivations of two Wu critics, including one who is seeking her job, and both Flynn and Kraft raise valid issues.

Asked if Idowu is involved in any way, a spokesperson for Wu told me via text that she did not have “anything to share” on that. While Khudaynazar did not report directly to Idowu, there could be potential power dynamics in play given that he is a member of Wu’s Cabinet, and it’s fair to ask Wu to address that. Meanwhile, a group of Black leaders has signed a letter that supports Idowu, and describes calls for his resignation as “unfounded and politically motivated.”

Another tangential question: What work is the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency, where Khudaynazar was employed, actually producing?

Established in 2020 in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, the office was set up as a civilian body to investigate complaints of Boston Police Department misconduct and holds subpoena power.

At the time, Wu was one of 12 city councilors who voted for it, and then-mayor Marty Walsh signed the ordinance that created it. Since then, as the Globe recently reported, OPAT has experienced turnover and vacancies and failed to hold public meetings or produce public reports.

Last October, Boston 25 News reported that the OPAT website was “full of broken links, making information inaccessible to the public.” When I checked, the last meeting and report listed on the current website dated back to January 2024. But a Wu spokesperson said the OPAT team has met, has investigated 143 complaints, and plans to release a report in July.

Wu appointed Evandro Carvalho, a former prosecutor and former state representative, as executive director a year ago. As he recently told the Globe, “We’ve had some challenges in terms of fulfilling all the functions, but we’ve been working hard to build capacity to make sure these gaps are closed.” In that interview, Carvalho also said that recent hires included a chief of staff.

It’s unclear what specific qualifications Khudaynazar had for a job that should require a certain level of experience and maturity.

Political work attracts young people, and young people sometimes do dumb things that should not define their entire lives. But when you work for the public, you are accountable to the public. That’s a tough lesson for Khudaynazar and Huang.

There’s also a lesson for Wu. Who gets hired and fired sends a message about workplace priorities, culture, and oversight. Especially in an election year, that message matters.

Joan Vennochi is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at joan.vennochi@globe.com. Follow her @joan_vennochi.

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers boast one of the top defensive cores in the NFL despite their lackluster offense in recent seasons.

The front of their defense, encompassing linebackers and defensive linemen, is one of the toughest to face and one of the deepest across football.

The star of that group is T.J. Watt, who has been an absolute force since the Steelers drafted him in 2017. Now entering the final year of his second NFL contract, the conversation has begun in regards to a possible extension for him. While an extension during the offseason does not seem incredibly likely due to more pressing issues, the Steelers will still have to work towards an extension eventually.

Bob Labriola, who writes for the Steelers website, has expressed that fans should have patience when it comes to an extension. He cautioned fans about something happening early on, but he is confident a deal will happen this year.

“Patience”, Labriola said. “Signing a superstar such as T.J. Watt to a contract extension is not a simple matter, and so it’s going to take time. Those kinds of things usually take place during the summer, and we’re not even to Memorial Day yet”.

There have also been talks about not extending Watt at all, or trading him in order to get a large haul in return. If the Steelers do not become a competitive team within the coming year, which seems increasingly less likely due to a weak offense, they could be better off sending their future Pro Football Hall Of Famer for a large offensive haul.

Now, the Steelers are effectively at a crossroads this offseason where they really have to figure out what their identity is for the first time in decades. With their big-name prospects all reaching turning points, the Steelers have a tough couple years coming up.

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