Committee member alleges deputy attorney general ordered violent arrests during Delaney Hall oversight visit

The committee member told the hearing that during a May 2025 oversight visit to Delaney Hall, a deputy attorney general (named in the transcript with inconsistent spellings) "ordered the violent arrest of Newark mayor, Ras Baraka." The speaker said the account is supported by body-worn camera footage worn by federal officers.

The member listed individuals the speaker said were assaulted during the arrest, naming a member of Congress (as recorded in the transcript) and Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman and another member referenced as Menendez. "According to body cam footage worn by the violent federal officers, they arrested the mayor, quote, per the deputy attorney general of The United States," the speaker said. The transcript attributes the description of events and the claim about the deputy attorney general's role to the committee member; it does not include any statement from the Department of Justice or the named official to confirm or deny the allegation.

The committee member said the alleged arrests were violent and that the episode illustrated what the member described as a pattern of obstruction and aggressive enforcement at detention oversight visits. The hearing record contains no immediate rebuttal or other firsthand testimony about the incident.