Mayor Ras Baraka (City of Newark, New Jersey)
New Jersey police announced Monday that the second suspect in the plot to kill Newark mayor Ras Baraka has been apprehended.
Jerry Jordan, 65, was arrested in his hometown of New Brunswick, New Jersey Friday morning after being wanted since March. Jones was arrested without incident, Newark police spokesperson Captain Derek Glenn said in a statement.
On March 30, the mayor’s office got a call about two men who were discussing a plan to kill Baraka at Newark Penn Station. Glenn said the call was transferred to police where the caller gave descriptions matching the pair. Fifty-six-year-old Kenneth Curry was quickly apprehended in camouflage, but Jordan – who was also in camouflage – escaped, according to NJ.com.
Baraka has been the mayor of Newark since 2014 and serves as the city’s 40th magistrate. He is native to Newark. His progressive governing approach has won him praise from various publications, including Ebony and The New York Times. Public safety is the mayor’s highest priority, according to the city of Newark’s website.
At a Newark Education Forum held last month, questions about the safety of drinking water in the school district dominated the conversation. Lead poisoning left residents worried about the health of their children. Baraka addressed the city bringing in bottled water and said kids will be offered free blood tests for lead while the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection tests drinking water sources in state-run schools.
Baraka didn’t know at the time if there had been any trends in the test results, as the department was still collecting data. He told the crowd, “When we get some levels that we think set some trends, we’ll release some of that.”
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has stated there is no lead crisis, but parents in Newark are unpleased, NJTV News reports.
