Newark mayor sues interim US attorney for false arrest, malicious prosecution

Newark Mayor and Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Ras Baraka filed a suit Tuesday against interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Alina Habba, accusing her of mendacious apprehension and malicious prosecution successful transportation with his May 9 apprehension and charges extracurricular a national migration center.

The lawsuit, filed successful the U.S. District Court successful New Jersey, accuses Habba of acting politically successful Baraka's May 9 apprehension extracurricular the Delaney Hall detention center, adjacent Newark Liberty International Airport. The bureau rapidly dropped the charges against him.

Baraka is seeking damages for what helium described arsenic his "false apprehension and malicious prosecution," arsenic good arsenic the allegedly defamatory remarks Habba made astir his case, including connected societal media. The ailment includes screenshots of her remarks.

FILE - Alina Habba speaks aft being sworn successful arsenic interim US Attorney General for New Jersey, successful the Oval Office of the White House successful Washington, connected March 28, 2025. (Pool File via AP)

Baraka was concisely charged with transgression trespassing past period extracurricular the Delaney Hall national migration detention center, a 1,000-bed installation adjacent Newark, New Jersey.

The charges against Baraka were rapidly dropped.

In the lawsuit, Baraka's lawyers accused Habba of acting arsenic "a governmental operative, extracurricular of immoderate relation intimately related to the judicial process, and successful her idiosyncratic individual capacity."

It besides accuses her of green-lighting the apprehension contempt "clear grounds that Mayor Baraka had not committed the petty discourtesy of ‘defiant trespass.’" Also named arsenic a defendent successful the lawsuit is Ricky Patel, a DHS Investigations cause successful complaint successful Newark.

The quality comes arsenic Baraka, a salient progressive figure, continues his ongoing gubernatorial run up of the June 10 Democratic primary. 

This is simply a processing quality story. Check backmost for updates.