Newark Mayor Ras Baraka sues Alina Habba over ICE incident

Yahoo

2 days ago

Newark, N.J., Mayor Ras Baraka (D) on Tuesday sued interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba in her personal capacity over his arrest last month outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility he was visiting with three Democratic members of Congress.
The lawsuit includes claims of false arrest, malicious prosecution and defamation, and accuses Habba of acting as a 'political operative, outside of any function intimately related to the judicial process.'
'Defendant Habba has made her biased political goals explicit,' the complaint read, pointing to political remarks Habba made before and after she was sworn in such as her goal to 'turn New Jersey red.'
The suit also names Ricky Patel, the Homeland Security Investigations agent in charge in Newark, in his personal capacity.
Baraka was charged with a single misdemeanor trespassing charge last month after accompanying three members of the New Jersey congressional delegation — Bonnie Watson Coleman (D), Rob Menendez (D) and LaMonica McIver (D) — to the Delaney Hall ICE detention center in Newark.
Habba's office later moved to dismiss the count after charging McIver with assaulting law enforcement while at the facility.
But Baraka alleged in the lawsuit that the arrest was baseless and targeted.
The mayor said in the complaint that he was invited inside Delaney Hall's gates by a guard who worked for the private company that owned the facility. Patel ordered Baraka to leave the grounds, despite the guard's invitation.
Baraka said he complied, but minutes later he was 'descended on' by armed and masked Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents. Patel ordered the other DHS officers to 'take him down.'
The complaint alleges that before he was transported from Delaney Hall, Habba had posted on her personal social media account that the mayor 'committed trespass' and had 'willingly chosen to disregard the law.'
'In authorizing and/or directing the arrest of Mayor Baraka without proper legal grounds, Defendant Habba was acting for political reasons and fulfilling her stated goal of 'turning New Jersey red' by instigating and/or authorizing the false arrest of Mayor Baraka, a Democrat,' the lawsuit reads.
He said he was kept in federal custody for more than five hours, and he accused Habba of threatening him with additional charges if he refused to give up his right to sue for attorney's fees, which he refused.
The complaint references scathing remarks a federal judge made toward Habba's office when dismissing the charge against Baraka.
U.S. District Judge André Espinosa said the arrest suggested a 'worrisome misstep' by the office, noting the 'apparent rush' in bringing the case that culminated in the government's 'embarrassing' retraction of the charge.
'Your role is not to secure convictions at all costs, nor to satisfy public clamor, nor to advance political agendas,' Espinosa said to the government's lawyer. 'Your allegiance is to the impartial application of the law, to the pursuit of truth and to the upholding of due process for all.'
Espinosa dismissed the complaint against Baraka with prejudice, meaning the charge cannot be brought again.
Before the lawsuit was made public, Habba wrote on social platform X that the mayor should 'feel free to join me in prioritizing violent crime and public safety. Far better use of time for the great citizens of New Jersey.'
Baraka is running for governor of New Jersey. The state's Democratic primary is June 10.
Two of Baraka's claims against Habba and Patel are what's known as a Bivens claim, which lets individuals sue federal officials in their individual capacity for monetary damages over constitutional rights violations.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.