May 9 (Reuters) - The mayor of Newark, New Jersey, a

Democrat who is running for governor, was arrested on Friday at

a privately run federal immigration detention center while three

U.S. lawmakers were on site for an unannounced inspection,

officials said.

Mayor Ras Baraka was taken into custody by U.S.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in a scuffle at the

gate to the ICE facility in Newark during the visit by three

members of New Jersey's congressional delegation, according to a

spokesperson for one of them, U.S. Representative Bonnie Watson

Coleman.

The spokesperson, Ned Cooper, told Reuters that Coleman

and her two fellow Democratic colleagues, Representatives

LaMonica McIver and Robert Menendez Jr., were also "shoved

around a bit" in the fracas, but no one was believed to have

been hurt.

Alina Habba, a former lawyer to President Donald Trump

serving as acting U.S. attorney, said on the social media outlet

X that Baraka "committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings"

to leave the ICE facility, known as Delaney Hall.

A spokesperson for Baraka did not immediately respond to

a request for comment. It was not immediately clear if he was

facing charges over the incident. Cooper said the mayor was

taken away to another ICE facility in Newark where he was being

held.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland

Security, the parent agency of ICE, said the three lawmakers

with a group of demonstrators who tried to force their way into

the facility when a bus of detainees arrived.

"These members of Congress storming into a detention

facility goes beyond bizarre political stunt and puts the safety

of our law enforcement agents and the detainees at risk," the

spokesperson said in a statement.

Cooper said Coleman, McIver and Menendez paid an

unannounced visit to the detention center "exercising their

oversight roles as members of Congress," and that ICE was

obligated to grant them admission.

Allegations that the three lawmakers stormed the

facility are "factually not true," Cooper said, adding that

Baraka remained outside the fence around the grounds to the

facility, where he "has been continually showing up" in recent

days.

Cooper said the lawmakers were not part of or

coordinated with a separate protest that was taking place at the

facility, and had not coordinated their visit with the mayor.

According to Cooper's account of the incident, the

lawmakers were escorted through the gate but were initially

denied entry to the detention center itself. After speaking with

guards for several minutes they noticed a crowd converging

around the mayor and a physical altercation ensued that led to

Baraka's arrest.

The members of congress ultimately were admitted to the

building and left about three hours after their arrival, Cooper

said.

McIver, in a video posted on social media, said Baraka

"did nothing wrong," calling the incident "unacceptable."

Baraka is running for the Democratic nomination as New

Jersey's governor in a competitive field. The primary is

scheduled for next month.

Immigrant rights advocates allege that Delaney Hall, a

1,000-person detention center operated by the private prison

company GEO Group ( GEO ), lacked proper city permits and opened despite

opposition from the community and elected officials.

DHS denied that the facility lacked proper permits and

highlighted cases of alleged gang members and criminals being

held there. GEO Group ( GEO ) did not immediately respond to a request

for comment.