NEWARK, New Jersey, May 15 (Reuters) - Lawyers for

Newark, New Jersey Mayor Ras Baraka said on Thursday they would

file motions to dismiss a charge that he had trespassed at a

privately run federal immigration detention center there last

week.

Baraka, who is running for the Democratic nomination for

governor in a crowded field, faces a misdemeanor charge of

trespassing at Delaney Hall, an offense that carries a maximum

penalty of 30 days in jail.

During the status conference in New Jersey federal court,

the mayor's counsel said they would seek dismissal on grounds

that President Donald Trump's Republican administration had

selectively prosecuted the Democratic mayor. The lawyers also

said the mayor was not subject to federal jurisdiction when

arrested.

The defense plans to file the motions next month.

"We believe that the mayor himself was targeted here," said

Rahul Agarwal, one of three lawyers at the defense table.

He said videos support the position that Baraka did not

commit a crime. "The mayor was invited into the facility on

Friday," Agarwal said, and was "outside the facility when he was

ultimately handcuffed and detained."

The arrest of Baraka, mayor of New Jersey's largest city, is

emblematic of the aggressive stance the Trump administration has

taken against officials who resist its immigration crackdown.

According to the criminal complaint, Baraka unlawfully

entered and remained in the Delaney Hall facility, run by GEO

Group Inc ( GEO ) under contract with the federal government.

"We believe there's clear evidence that the mayor was within

the property," Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Demanovich told

U.S. Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa, who said a trial could

take place in late July, without setting a specific date.

During the conference, the prosecutor conferred with Alina

Habba, interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, who sat in the well

of the courtroom. Last week, Habba said on the X social media

platform that Baraka had "committed trespass and ignored

multiple warnings" to leave the facility. "No one is above the

law," she wrote in capital letters.

Also last week on Fox News, Habba accused Baraka of

"grandstanding."

The hearing took place on the same day as a Wisconsin county

judge was scheduled to appear in federal court on charges she

had helped a migrant evade an immigration arrest in her

courtroom.

In Newark, the judge asked the defense lawyer if the mayor

was the only person arrested in the incident, which unfolded

while three Democratic members of Congress were conducting an

unannounced inspection of the center. "He was," answered

Agarwal.

A crowd of about 200 supporters rallied outside the

courthouse after Thursday's court session. Some protesters

carried signs reading "Protect Immigrant Rights and Due Process"

and "Close Delaney Hall."

Amol Sinha, executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey,

was among those outside court, and said Baraka's arrest was

egregious. "It is an intimidation tactic to bully those who

won't do the Trump administration's bidding."

Sinha noted that Trump has vowed to go after officials in

sanctuary cities, such as Newark, where laws limit cooperation

with federal immigration enforcement efforts.

The city of Newark sued GEO Group ( GEO ) after U.S. Immigration and

Customs Enforcement in February awarded a contract to the

private prison company for the 1,000-bed immigration processing

center, the largest on the U.S. East Coast.