Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has filed a lawsuit against interim US Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba after she had him arrested for his participation in a scuffle with immigration authorities last month.
Baraka alleges Habba violated his constitutional rights and defamed him after the fracas, according to NBC News.
The lawsuit alleges that a security guard at Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, which is run by private prison company The GEO Group under contract with the Department of Homeland Security, allowed Baraka to enter the property to calm a crowd of protesters outside. Patel, however, eventually told the mayor to leave and disputed that he was invited to that area. Five minutes after Baraka left the property, the lawsuit alleges, about 20 homeland security agents “many armed and masked, descended on the Mayor and members of Congress without any attempt to calm fears or ensure peace.”
They violently pulled Baraka’s arms and arrested him “without probable cause,” the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit also alleges that before the mayor was transported from Delaney Hall, Habba “issued a false and defamatory statement on her personal social media account” that he had trespassed on the property and ignored multiple warnings from DHS officials to leave.
Baraka accuses Habba of “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 cited Magistrate Judge André Espinosa's criticism of the U.S. attorney’s office for its handling of matter, noting that the judge said, “Your role is not to secure convictions at all costs, nor to satisfy public clamor, nor to advance political agendas. Your allegiance is to the impartial application of the law, to the pursuit of truth, and to upholding the law.”
Espinosa added, “The hasty arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, followed swiftly by the dismissal of these trespassing charges a mere 13 days later, suggests a worrisome misstep by your Office.”
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— Hector Vargas (@hectorvargasj6) June 3, 2025
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka sued Interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba on Tuesday for wrongful arrest and defamation over his detention last month during a protest outside an immigration jail in the New Jersey city.
"I don't know if @AlinaHabba and Ricky… pic.twitter.com/JCsiE8u6GE
The mayor is seeking monetary damages, claiming Habba’s actions “resulted in an unlawful seizure and detention,” which caused Baraka to suffer “severe reputational harm, emotional distress and other damages.”
During an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Baraka claimed he “didn’t do anything wrong” and that he received no warnings from law enforcement before his arrest.
“The U.S. attorney wasn't there. She doesn't know what happened,” the mayor said. “Clearly, that is not the context of what happened. I was there for over an hour in that space, and nobody ever told me to move. I was in there for over an hour, not a single person, not an officer from ICE, not any of the security guards. Nobody told me to leave that place.”
The mayor alleged that a Homeland Security official “came in the end and began to escalate the situation” and that he “didn’t go there to break any laws.?
Habba later dismissed the misdemeanor charge against Baraka “for the sake of moving forward.” Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ), who was also arrested, is still facing felony charges for allegedly assaulting a federal officer.
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