Newark Mayor Ras Baraka filed a lawsuit Tuesday against interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba and a Department of Homeland Security investigator, alleging that she defamed him and they both violated his constitutional rights when he was arrested at a federal immigration detention center earlier this month.
Baraka brought the lawsuit against Habba, who previously served as President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, and Ricky J. Patel, a special agent in charge of the Newark division of Homeland Security investigations. The mayor alleges they violated his Fourth Amendment right against false arrest and malicious prosecution.
Baraka, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, was arrested on trespassing charges after he and members of Congress attempted to enter an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Newark on May 9 to review the treatment of detainees. Those charges were later dropped.
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.”
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.”
Baraka seeks financial damages for the alleged violation of his Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable seizures. The lawsuit says the “malicious prosecution of Mayor Baraka resulted in an unlawful seizure and detention” and as a result, the mayor “suffered severe reputational harm, emotional distress and other damages.”
The Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to NBC News’ requests for comment.
The Justice Department later charged Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., with assaulting, resisting and impeding law enforcement officials over the incident at the facility. The DOJ also sued Newark and other New Jersey cities, including Paterson, Hoboken and Jersey City, over sanctuary policies. In response, Baraka called the lawsuit “absurd.”
“We are not standing in the way of public safety,” Baraka said in a statement. “We are upholding the Constitution, providing oversight, and following the laws and guidelines of the State of New Jersey Nothing in our policies prevents law enforcement from doing their jobs. What we refuse to do is turn our city into an arm of federal immigration enforcement, which the courts have already ruled is not our role.”
