Newark mayor Ras Baraka sues US Attorney Habba over arrest at ICE jail
Newark mayor Ras Baraka Tuesday sued U.S. Attorney Alina Habba for wrongful arrest and defamation over his detention last month during a protest outside an immigration jail in the New Jersey city.
Baraka claims Habba improperly ordered his arrest and prosecution for allegedly trespassing at Delaney Hall, a detention center near Newark Liberty International Airport that has become a lightning rod for opponents of President Donald Trump's widening crackdown on undocumented immigration.
The charges were later withdrawn and a federal judge rebuked Habba, who was recently appointed to the powerful post by Trump, for her conduct. But Baraka says that's not enough.
'This is not about revenge,' Baraka told reporters at a news conference announcing the suit. 'Ultimately, I think this is about them taking accountability for what has happened to me.'
Baraka, who is running for governor in a June 10 Democratic primary, accuses the former Trump personal lawyer of 'acting for political reasons and fulfilling her stated goal of 'turning New Jersey red.''
Early voting started across the Garden State Tuesday in the primary pitting Baraka against five other Democrats.
'I want somebody to apologize, write a letter, say this was wrong, come out and say, 'We shouldn't have done this,'' he said.
Baraka's suit also accuses Habba of defamation, citing television appearances in which she repeatedly claimed he had broken the law and said he was 'grandstanding' by protesting the privately run facility used to jail accused undocumented immigrants.
Habba did not immediately comment on the suit, which also named an investigator for the Department of Homeland Security.
The May 9 incident outside Delaney Hall unfolded when Baraka tried to join three Democratic members of Congress for an oversight tour, which is authorized under federal law. Baraka, an outspoken critic of Trump's immigration crackdown and the detention center, was denied entry.
Baraka was initially charged with trespass, but Habba dropped that charge two weeks later. U.S. Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa rebuked Habba, saying her actions amounted to a 'worrisome misstep' and dismissed the criminal case with prejudice.
One of the members of Congress present, Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., was later charged with felony counts of assaulting officers stemming from her role in the skirmish at the facility's gate during the protest.
McIver decried the charges and signaled she plans to fight them. A preliminary hearing is scheduled later this month.
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