NEWARK — A magistrate judge upbraided federal prosecutors Wednesday as he granted their request to dismiss its trespassing charge against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, calling the government’s abrupt about-face “a worrisome misstep” in a case that has stoked a political firestorm.
“An arrest of a public figure is not a preliminary investigative tool. It is a severe action,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Andre M. Espinosa told Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Demanovich during a virtual court hearing. “It should only be undertaken after a thorough, dispassionate investigation of credible evidence.
“The apparent rush in this case, culminating today in the embarrassing retraction of charges, suggests a failure to adequately investigate,” Espinosa continued. “... Your office must operate with a higher standard than that.”
Interim U.S. attorney Alina Habba has offered no explanation for her decision to drop the misdemeanor trespassing charge her office filed against Baraka (D) following his controversial arrest this month outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility in Newark.