(Reuters) -A misdemeanor charge against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for trespassing will be dismissed, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba said in a statement on Monday.
But an assault charge has been filed against U.S. Representative LaMonica McIver, who accompanied Baraka during a visit to an immigrant detention center.
The arrest of Baraka on May 9 was emblematic of the aggressive stance the Trump administration has taken against officials who resist its immigration crackdown.
Baraka, the mayor of New Jersey’s largest city and a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor, was charged with trespassing at a privately run federal immigration detention center on May 9.
He and three U.S. representatives were on site for an unannounced inspection, officials said.
“After extensive consideration, we have agreed to dismiss Mayor Baraka’s misdemeanor charge of trespass for the sake of moving forward,” Habba said in a statement.
However, she said McIver “assaulted, impeded, and interfered with law enforcement.”
“That conduct cannot be overlooked,” Habba said.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Sandra Maler and Sonali Paul)
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