‘History will judge us as cowards or heroes’: Ras Baraka, the mayor arrested by Ice, won’t be intimidated

The politician, who's been labeled too progressive, too Black' in the race for New Jersey governor, reflects on Trump, immigration and the power of poetry

It took about two minutes for Ras Baraka to be propelled from being a relatively obscure New Jersey politician into a nationwide avatar. The transformation happened on 9 May when he was trying to inspect Delaney Hall, a privately run federal immigration detention center that he accuses of violating safety protocols, when he was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice).

Video footage of those fateful minutes show burly Ice agents dressed in militarised fatigues dragging the mayor into the compound. Baraka, who was accompanying three congressmembers, has his hands yanked behind his back and is handcuffed.