New Jersey Globe reports:

A federal judge on Wednesday scolded federal prosecutors and announced he will dismiss trespassing charges against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka related to a standoff at a migrant detention center.

Interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba announced earlier this week she would drop charges against Baraka (but at the same time announced new charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver stemming from a scuffle during Baraka’s arrest). Federal magistrate judge Andre Espinosa reprimanded the federal prosecutors for more than five minutes, calling the retraction of the charges “embarrassing.”

“The hasty arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, followed swiftly by the dismissal of these trespassing charges a mere 13 days later, suggests a worrying misstep by your office,” Espinosa said. “An arrest, particularly of a public figure, is not a preliminary investigative tool. It is a severe action, carrying significant reputational and personal consequences, and it should only be undertaken after a thorough, dispassionate evaluation of credible evidence.”

The judge directed his comments to Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Demanovich — the judge said Demanovich had acted appropriately throughout the case, but as the representative of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he was responsible for hearing the message.

Federal magistrate judge Andre Espinosa said he found out about the dismissal through reports in the media, rather than from prosecutors themselves. The judge said that while there will be no trial, he believed Baraka deserved the chance to defend himself against the accusations. [Continue reading…]