Until now, I never would have suspected that a member of Congress I’ve known for decades, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, would be capable of such a crime.
But according to the Trump administration, she and two of her Congressional colleagues “stormed” a detention center for undocumented immigrants in Newark, N.J., and “body slammed” a guard who dared to stand in their way.
“We will not tolerate assault against our ICE law enforcement agents. By members of Congress or anyone else,” ICE Spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin wrote on X.
Criminal charges against the Congresswoman and her militant companions are “definitely on the table,” she later told CNN.
So, let’s dive in. This all happened on Friday, when Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was put in handcuffs and arrested on trespassing charges. We’ll get to that, but let’s start with a look at those rowdy members of Congress.
The first surprise is that Watson Coleman is 80-years-old, and has somehow concealed this tendency towards violence for all these years. Plus, she’s a cancer survivor, and her stride can be a bit unsteady since she had back surgery last year.
I never would have expected her to storm anything, let alone body slam an ICE guard. It’s amazing what doctors can do these days.
But she must have done this, because we all know that a top spokeswoman for a federal agency would never flat out lie about something this serious. Based on the ICE account of this aggression, a Republican member of Congress, Buddy Carter of Georgia, drafted a resolution that would expel this trio of Congressional commandos from their committee assignments.
“This behavior constitutes an assault on our brave ICE agents and undermines the rule of law,” the resolution states. (He voted against a bill to investigate the January 6 riots, but I digress.)
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., speaks with an officer demanding she be let into the ICE Detention office after the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Friday, May 9, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)AP
So, I called Watson Coleman to check all this out. She claims she did nothing wrong, which is typical of violent criminals. She seems to be using her age and infirmities as some kind of get-out-of-jail free card.
“I’m no Muhamed Ali,” she told me.
Sure, but how about the “storming” and “trespassing” charges?
As it happens, members of Congress have a legal right to inspect ICE detention facilities at any time, without notice, as described on ICE’s own website. In fact, after the mayor was hauled off, the three members of Congress did tour the facility, Delaney Hall, which is privately run.
The elevator was broken, Watson Coleman said, and that could fortify Baraka’s claim that the place is overdue for a city inspection. It was a bit dirty as well, and she talked to five female detainees from Central America who told her they have been barred from speaking to their lawyers and families.
“They were confused and scared, and had no idea what could happen to them next,” she says.
But if she’s entitled by law to conduct these snap visits, then how could she possibly be trespassing, as ICE’s McLaughlin claims?
“There’s no basis for arresting any of us,” Watson Coleman said. “But I take the threats seriously because they just engage in such un-American activity and disregard anyone’s human rights and civil rights. It’s just who they are.
“I went there to do an inspection, not to get involved in any chaotic melee. It was scary. But if I had to do it again, I would still go.”
ICE officers arrested Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, shown handcuffed at center, Friday afternoon in a violent struggle just outside the gates of a privately operated immigrant detention facility that he had opposed in the city. Baraka is also a running for governor of New Jersey in the Democratic primary.Photo provided by U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman
The scary part came when ICE agents moved in to arrest Baraka. As mayor, he does not have the same right as Watson Coleman does to visit ICE facilities. But he does have the right to protest outside the gates, like anyone else.
And that’s how all this started. Baraka had been protesting at the facility for days, and the city has sued to shut it down. He’s running for governor in the June primary as the far-left candidate in a crowded field of six, and has so far been unable to break through.
But Baraka did not chain himself to the fence, and says this was not intended as an act of civil disobedience. He came to the facility on Friday to join the three members of Congress at a press conference, and the many videos posted online show that ICE guards opened the gate to let him in after a short conversation. Videos also show that when they asked him to leave a few minutes later, he complied. If he is convicted of trespassing, I’ll light what’s left of my hair on fire.
He was outside the gate when ICE officers came to arrest him. At that point, the three members of Congress formed a kind of human shield around Baraka, forcing the ICE agents to confront them. Who pushed who, exactly? It’s tough to tell.
One of Watson Coleman’s New Jersey colleagues, Rep. LaMonica McIver, seems to deliberately bump an ICE agent at one point, and ICE agents seem pointlessly rough as they snap the cuffs on Baraka. But storming the gates? Body-slamming? Add that to the long list of lies.
The ruckus at Delaney Hall was just another act of bullying from the Trump administration. Like all autocrats, he and his team make a point of punishing those who dare oppose them, whether it’s a university, a law firm, or a trio of Democrats doing their jobs. It’s a signal to everyone that you better not mess with them.
As Watson Coleman says, it’s just who they are.
Moran is a national political columnist for Advance Local and the former editorial page editor/columnist for The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. He can be emailed at [email protected].