Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has filed a lawsuit against the state’s top federal prosecutor, accusing her of orchestrating his false arrest and malicious prosecution for political gain.
Baraka, who’s currently vying for the Democratic nomination for governor, dropped the legal bombshell Tuesday, the same day early voting opened across the state. The lawsuit names Alina Habba, the interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey and a Trump appointee, alleging she pursued trespassing charges against him after a May 9 visit to the Delaney Hall federal immigration detention center went sideways.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Baraka didn’t mince words.
“This is not about revenge,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s about them taking accountability for what they did.”
His legal complaint also names Ricky Patel, the Homeland Security Investigations agent in charge of the Newark office, claiming that both he and Habba defamed Baraka and violated his rights by greenlighting his arrest, even though, according to the suit, there was “clear evidence” that no trespassing had occurred.
Habba had posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Baraka “committed trespass,” a statement his legal team is now calling defamatory.
Baraka’s arrest happened during what was supposed to be an oversight visit to Delaney Hall alongside three Democratic lawmakers: Rob Menendez, LaMonica McIver, and Bonnie Watson Coleman. Under federal law, members of Congress are allowed access to such facilities.
Baraka, a vocal critic of ICE and private detention contracts, joined the group at the facility’s gate, but was denied entry. After walking from the facility side of a fence to the street side where demonstrators had gathered, he was suddenly arrested by uniformed officers.
Videos from the incident went viral, showing Baraka being handcuffed as the crowd around him grew increasingly agitated. “Protect the mayor!” people shouted as federal officers led him away.
The charge? Defiant trespass. But less than two weeks later, Habba’s office dropped the case entirely, which Baraka’s camp argues is evidence that the charges were never legitimate in the first place.
Although Baraka was cleared, U.S. Attorney Habba didn’t back down. Instead, she turned her focus to Rep. McIver, charging her with two counts of assaulting officers during the tense scene at the gate. McIver has denied wrongdoing and pledged to fight the charges in court.
Meanwhile, U.S. Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa openly criticized Habba’s handling of the mayor’s arrest.
“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,” the judge wrote in an official statement.
The lawsuit is part of a larger, ongoing fight over immigration enforcement in New Jersey. Delaney Hall — now a 1,000-bed federal immigration detention center — is operated by GEO Group Inc., a private prison contractor that recently inked a $1 billion federal deal to run the facility for 15 years.
Baraka has been publicly opposed to GEO’s involvement, even filing a separate lawsuit earlier this year to block the contract. His stance on immigration has made him a target in a state with several so-called “sanctuary” cities, which limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration agents.
Just weeks after his arrest, the Trump Justice Department filed a federal lawsuit against Newark and three other New Jersey cities, challenging their sanctuary policies, adding more fuel to an already heated political fire.
For now, Baraka remains focused on his campaign while preparing for what could be a very public legal battle. His message to voters and the federal government is clear: he’s not backing down.
