Reacting to the arrest of Newark NJ mayor Ras Baraka by federal agents at an ICE facility, and to the treatment by ICE officers of three Democratic members of Congress — Reps. Robert Menendez, LaMonica McIver, and Bonnie Watson Coleman — who scheduled a visit to inspect the facility, former Congressman Dan Bishop (R-NC) wrote: “Members of Congress and the Mayor of Newark committed an insurrection at a federal detention facility in New Jersey today. Worse than 9/11.”
Bishop, who serves in the current Trump administration as the Deputy Director of OMB, received scathing responses for his comparison to 9/11, in which foreign terrorists attacked the United States killing nearly 3,000 Americans.
Among those hammering Bishop is U.S. Congressman Pat Ryan (D-NY), whose district was among those hit hardest by 9/11 — the worst attack on American soil in history. Ryan, a military veteran and graduate of West Point, addressed Bishop directly writing: “It makes me physically ill that you are in a position of power in the Trump Administration.”
Ryan, the recipient of two Bronze Star Medals, also expressed surprise that Bishop’s post hadn’t been deleted.
Didn’t even want to dignify this with a response, but somehow this tweet is still up.
— Pat Ryan 🇺🇸 (@PatRyanUC) May 12, 2025
We lost an awful lot of American heroes that day. A lot of them from the Hudson Valley.
It makes me physically ill that you are in a position of power in the Trump Administration. https://t.co/5D9Loa4TXp
The confrontation between ICE agents and the visiting Democrats in Newark last week, in which no parties were injured, saw the Trump-appointed interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba respond with an accusation that Mayor Baraka had “willingly chosen to disregard the law.”
The Mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey this afternoon. He has willingly chosen to disregard the law. That will not stand in this…
— Alina Habba (@AlinaHabba) May 9, 2025
Baraka replied to Habba’s assertion by saying “Alina Habba wasn’t there. She doesn’t know what happened.”
Habba later posted a more measured response saying that her office is investigating the matter, a process during which “all available evidence will be thoroughly reviewed prior to making a determination on how to proceed.”
My office is undertaking a thorough investigation in coordination with our Federal Agency partners of what transpired on Friday at Delaney Hall. As is true of every investigation this office handles, all available evidence will be thoroughly reviewed prior to making a…
— US Attorney Habba (@USAttyHabba) May 12, 2025
The incident and the aftermath have struck a nerve on both sides of the aisle, with Dems irate about ICE conduct and MAGA Republicans excoriating the Democrats for what they characterize as interfering with ICE procedures.
We’re at Delaney Hall, an ICE prison in Newark that opened without permission from the city & in violation of local ordinances.
— Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (@RepBonnie) May 9, 2025
We’ve heard stories of what it’s like in other ICE prisons. We’re exercising our oversight authority to see for ourselves.@RepLaMonica @RepMenendez pic.twitter.com/OIJuePH2XS
