“She Wants to Grab Him:” The Premeditated Detention of Ras Baraka
Judge Jamel Semper in the LaMonica McIver case has released the videos associated with her motion to dismiss for congressional immunity.
Video F strongly suggests that someone female ordered Ricky Patel — the person who ultimately arrested Ras Baraka — to “grab” the Mayor even before he was told he was trespassing.
0:45, Ricky Patel says, “I’m going to walk right to the Mayor now.”
1:06 of Video F, Ricky Patel says, “you know me, I’m not saying no to shit.”
At 2:14, someone else says, “She wants to grab him.”
Only after that did Patel say, “How did the Mayor get in here?” after which a DHS employee made a baseless claim about how it happened.
In less than 30 seconds after engaging the Mayor, Patel threatened to arrest him for trespassing, in response to which one of Baraka’s aides said, “we got invited in,” which DOJ now concedes to be true.
In the middle of it, Patel gets a call. He sees who is calling. At first he doesn’t answer. Then seconds later he answers the call. After Patel gets off the phone, he calls Bonnie Watson Coleman, “Ma’am,” after which she corrects him, “Congresswoman.” When Patel orders Baraka to put his hands behind his back, Watson Coleman says “we’ll be your eyes and ears.” Both Congresswomen say, “calm down.”
Exhibit B is the one that shows Patel ordering others to prepare to arrest Baraka, “even though he stepped out.” Meanwhile, one of the ICE officers is arming himself, and another one mocks him for it. Another asks, “they really wanted to just come here to see a tour of the facility?”
1:16: I am arresting the Mayor, so.
1:16: 30: I got it, I got it. We’re taking him right now.
1:16:50: I’m going to take him right now.
[Hangs up phone]
1:16:55: Okay, even though he stepped out, I’m going to put him in cuffs.
1:17: Guys, listen to me. We’re going to walk out of the gates. I’m going to place the Mayor in handcuffs. We are arresting the Mayor, per the Deputy Attorney General of the United States. Anyone who gets in the way, I need you guys to get me a perimeter.
1:17:30: I already told him on camera that he was under arrest, we’re going to place him under arrest.
[They arm themselves some more.]
1:20, after the arrest, McIver: You assaulted me. I am filing a complaint.
Even before anyone from ICE engaged with the Mayor, “She” ordered Ricky Patel to “grab him.”
The always useful question is who would have that kind of authority able to remotely direct controversial actions, is female, and would be getting real time updates. That intersecting set would have Noem and perhaps Bondi in it, no one else comes to my mind. Both Bondi and Noem have no problem pushing boundaries in this way either.
So, while it seems certain to be one of the Cabinet secretaries, I’d say 80-20 it’s Noem.
So I guess I’m a bit confused. Todd Blanche’s pronouns are she/her? Or there was someone else ordering the arrest of Mayor Baraka?
My impression is that there was someone other than Blanche telling the guy to arrest Baraka. Who, is a good question.
Stella?
Either Noem or Habba.
I missed Habba, equally willing to run past boundaries, would be impetuously willing to demonstrate fealty and would be the plausible deniability shield against claims the WH orchestrated this. Habba also is the one who did file charges as US attornety IIRC, so she would be under no illusions of what would be expected.
However, this kind of CF operation had already been one of Noem’s hallmarks during her tenure and it’s her facility. I’ll revise to 60% it’s Noem, 3% it’s Habba leving 10% for Bondi.
Yes, Noem or Habba. The reason I don’t think it’s Bondi is because of how she spoke up for U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert in EDVA.
Trump’s fascism is being kicked into high-gear.
On September 25, 2025, President Trump issued National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7 or the Presidential Memorandum), “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence.”
https://www.arnoldporter.com/en/perspectives/blogs/enforcement-edge/2025/09/turning-counterterrorism-tools-onto-domestic-policy-targets
This is the avenue that Trump will use to go after George Soros and the groups that Soros funds.
Trump’s attack on George Soros is the next step in the autocrat’s handbook
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/27/trump-attack-george-soros
The footage shown on Maddow also has an officer telling everyone to shut off their body cams.
This case will be in history books.
Which history books, as they are all being white-washed?
Yet the video seems to me to have come from a bodycam?
It sounded like that to me when I first heard it, but he also could have been saying turn ON your cameras. Listen again. It is not that clear to me.
“ Guys, listen to me. We’re going to walk out of the gates. I’m going to place the Mayor in handcuffs. We are arresting the Mayor, per the Deputy Attorney General of the United States. Anyone who gets in the way, I need you guys to get me a perimeter.” lmao
You left out my favorite part:
“If you have body cams, turn them off”
Because nothing screams competency like detailing your entire plot on film.
OT Like everything else with this administration, Trump’s decision to extend a lifeline to Argentina involves corruption
https://newrepublic.com/post/201067/trump-argentina-bailout-bessent-friend-gop-billionaire
Trump gets into a trade war with China. China stops buying American crops. Argentine farmers fill the gap, screwing US farmers out of billions. Trump then sends $20 billion to help out Argentina’s economy.
Trump then offers America’s farmers socialism in a bailout.
How is this ‘America First?’
I’ve been saying for a while that if we’re going to be ruled by fascists, I’d prefer that they be as incompetent as possible. I’m approximately an engineer by trade, and it’s REALLY difficult for me not to point out the mistakes they are making, and explain how they will backfire.
But I promise I’ll force myself to keep my mouth shut about that, and limit myself to ridiculing these clowns every day.
Another piece in this weirdness is Scott Bessent’s financial interests in farm land that he was meant to divest before taking up his cabinet position.
Cleaners
We need an intervenor,
Bessent takes us to the cleaner,
Heed the warning!
Farmers, please subpoena,
Twenty billion: Argentina!
So much scorning…
Why did our Old Glory
give away the store?
Farmer inventories,
We will pay for that score!
Something sure is squirrelly,
IMF paid Milei early,
Who’s forlorning?
Just who have we buttered up
while farmers have to shutter up,
Now we’re mourning.
If we had a magic lamp for only a day,
We’d make a wish, here’s what we’d say:
MAGA’s lies don’t measure up,
Especially with the pressure up,
No more norming!
https://youtu.be/H0rGMNnIEgY
“We are arresting the Mayor, per the Deputy Attorney General of the United States.” — that would seem to point to Lisa Monaco, right?
Are you time warped?
Trump is chasing her to get revenge, https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5528090-trump-demands-microsoft-fire-lisa/
I knew about that. But I didn’t think Foraker’s comment was snark.
Savage.
The mayor was arrested on May 9, 2025, and I wasn’t sure whether she was still in office at that time. After further research it looks like Todd Blanche was confirmed on March 5, 2025, so he was the Deputy Attorney General at the time of the arrest, and it definitely would not have been Lisa Monaco. I was mistaken.
Looking at it again, I would guess that what happened is that Ricky Patel talked to the Todd Blanche, and Todd probably told Ricky that Pam Bondi wanted Mayor Baraka arrested — that’s the “she” that Ricky then referred to — not Todd Blanche. Right?
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It may have been Habba or Noem, instead of Bondi.
Well, it’s presumably not the actual Deputy Attorney General (unless s/he has a secret alt gender).
But this is the thing, the Trump administration seems to be stuffed full of overactive courtiers who apparently find it trivially easy to issue orders way beyond their authority (or competence). And low-level functionaries like Patel who are apparently unquestioningly willing to “just obey orders” from these loose cannons seem to have no notion of the legal jeopardy in which this kind of servile fealty can place them.
Sooner or later. Trump won’t save them all.
I am assuming that the smart ones negotiated their pardons prior to their fealty.
I can’t see DJT doing that since he uses pardons as the ‘carrot’ for their continued compliance. Also, there doesn’t appear to be a lot of smart people or even ‘street smart’ people in this administration.
It couldn’t have been a slip of the tongue because the un-woke and anti-trans are not allowed to wear a Freudian slip unless the gender on a birth certificate allows it.
Trump to military leaders, Putin said that we’re (the US) the hottest country.
9:06-9:40 in https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hlXPfKAAnUo
What Patel is likely to find, and this will be curious, is exactly how much gratitude the Trump Administration shows towards people below Cabinet Official or Billionaire status, and that is zero. Why I find it curious is because if a high-ranking ICE agent is thrown under the bus, is what that will say to all the other prospective ICE agents that they are hoping to hire.