Democrat Mayor Sues Alina Habba

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Newark Mayor Ras Baraka on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba over his arrest on a trespassing charge at a federal immigration detention center last month.

“Newark Mayor Ras Baraka sues US Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba for false arrest & defamation, in connection to the briefly filed (then dismissed) criminal trespass case against Baraka in Newark on May 9,” CBS News Justice correspondent Scott MacFarlane said.

“Baraka’s complaint includes copy of social media post by Habba,” he added.

NBC News reports:

Habba had alleged that Baraka “ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security” officials to “remove himself” from the facility, and later said she was dismissing the misdemeanor charge “for the sake of moving forward.”

The lawsuit alleges that a security guard at the Delaney Hall detention center, which is run by private prison company GEO Group under contract with DHS, allowed Baraka to enter the fence of 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 says, about 20 DHS 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 says.

The lawsuit 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.”

“Today I filed a federal lawsuit against Alina Habba and DHS Agent Ricky Patel for false arrest, malicious prosecution, and defamation. They abused their power to violently arrest me at Delaney Hall despite being invited inside. No one is above the law,” Baraka said.

“My advice to the mayor – feel free to join me in prioritizing violent crime and public safety. Far better use of time for the great citizens of New Jersey,” Habba said Monday evening.

Per Axios:

Baraka is running in this month’s Democratic gubernatorial primary in New Jersey.

Election Day is June 10, and early voting began on Tuesday.

The conflict in May also included three House Democrats: Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), Rob Menendez (D-N.J.) and LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.).

The Justice Department later charged McIver with assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement.

Watson Coleman told reporters that law enforcement manhandled them and the mayor.

The lawmakers said they were attempting to investigate ICE’s reopening of the Delany Hall facility to house detained migrants.

Baraka had been trying to enter the facility to inspect whether it was in violation of municipal safety codes.

His office sued GEO Group, a private prison company, over allegations it lacked proper permits to operate Delany Hall.



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