newark Mayor Raz Baraka appeared in federal court this morning for a status conference following his arrest last week outside Delaney Hall An immigration detention center that was contracted to open just weeks ago by the Trump administration ICE agents took Baraka into custody on trespassing charges The mayor has said and released video footage to back his claim that he was at the site to support three of New Jerseys Congress members holding a press conference alleging private owners of the facility blocked inspections and didn't get necessary permits to open which the Department of Homeland Security has denied Well senior correspondent Joanna Gagas was at the hearing earlier today and joins us from outside the Newark courthouse where she says Barco was met with hundreds of his supporters Joanna that's right Briana And it was quite a scene here earlier today I'm outside of the US District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark where as you said earlier today Newark Mayor Raz Baraka appeared here for what's called a status conference Now what that basically is is the two sides in the case decide and agree on the rules and how things will will play out The two sides here we have the federal government represented by US Attorney uh interim US attorney Alina Haba who was here in the courtroom the defense Newark Mayor Raz Baraka who as you said was arrested last Friday by HHS officials He was joined by three attorneys today three different firms who are representing him Here's what they asked for They they told Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa that they intend to file a motion to dismiss this case First on jurisdiction they say that the HHS officers who arrested who detained Mayor Baraka had no jurisdiction to do so They're also saying that evidence will show that the mayor was not trespassing as the federal government has alleged They say there is video evidence that will show that the mayor was invited inside the gates of Delaney Hall that he was arrested after he had exited the gates And so they say the trespassing charge is void Uh they believe that that will be filed uh that that will be evidentiary in their evidence the video that they intend to show And they say they believe the mayor was targeted Uh they say that comments made by the federal government both before his arrest and after show that he was targeted In response to that Judge Espinosa asked "Was he the only one arrested that day?"

They said yes We could see the judge nod considering what they were saying But all of this is going to play out as evidence is disclosed They're right now in discovery which means both sides need to share all evidence with each other But I'll tell you I I haven't seen anything like it When the mayor exited the courthouse today he was thronged by hundreds of supporters chanting shouting cheering him on He gave a fiery speech to the press to those watching to the federal government to those who uh charged him in this case Here's what he had to say I feel like what we did was completely correct We did not violate any laws Uh we stood up for the Constitution of this country the Constitution of the State of New Jersey We believe that I was targeted in this I was the only person arrested That's right Uh you know I was the only person identified Uh I was the only person uh you know they were put in a cell you know the only person that's in that was in cuffs and the only person that's here this morning uh going through this humiliation for these people The the the real bizarre thing about all of this is that we are fighting about a document that was created hundreds and hundreds of years ago It's called the Constitution of the United States That's right which gives everybody due process no matter who you are no matter what language you speak no matter what your background is what your gender is or who you decide to love that the Constitution protects everybody once you step foot on this soil once you reside in this country whether you document it or not the Constitution protects you You have the right to identify people based on their nationality their race or their language and say that some people should be treated by the laws of this land and other people should not This is wrong It is unjust It is undemocratic It is unpatriotic It is unamerican We cannot arrest people simply because they disagree with us We cannot target people because their political views are separate from ours We cannot subjugate people take their pictures mug shots and fingerprints because we believe that somehow they oppose to our position That ladies and gentlemen is authoritarianism I'm going tell everybody else that the Constitution also protects the freedom of the press That's right Because somehow the founding father founders believe that the press will protect democracy at all costs They believe that journalists would protect the constitution at all costs And so it's our duty and our responsibility all these cameras that I see all these people that are writing to tell the damn truth It is your responsibility That's why it's in the constitution in the first place because everything should be have a light on it That's just the reality of it Good or bad Good or bad Now I know people thought I was going to come out here and talk crazy about individuals and speak about this person and that person but that's not why I'm here because these issues are bigger than them We believe the mayor is not guilty Beyond that he's innocent and he will be exonerated Precisely how and when we cannot determine but he will be Now Mayor Baraka was charged with a class C misdemeanor That's a petty misdemeanor In terms of what was agreed upon inside the courthouse today both sides agreed to a timeline All discovery meaning all evidence will be shared between the two parties by next week May 22nd Any motions filed will happen by June 12th We know that the defense intends to file a motion to dismiss and this case could go to trial If it does that will happen as early as mid July Now Judge Espinosa did say that's an aggressive schedule but we could and very likely will see a speedy trial if it goes in that direction in this case Outside of the District Courthouse in Newark I'm Joanna Gagas NJ Spotlight News