Newark Mayor Sues Trump Prosecutor Over ICE Protest Arrest (3)

The Democratic mayor of Newark sued the acting US Attorney in New Jersey over his arrest outside a private detention facility linked to the administration’s mass deportation efforts.

Ras Baraka in a Tuesday lawsuit accused Alina Habba of false arrest and malicious prosecution in connection with the May 9 incident, in which Baraka was arrested on a trespassing charge at the Delaney Hall private detention facility in Newark.

Baraka, who’s running for governor, said the arrest was a malicious attempt to ensure news coverage featuring videos of a “Black Mayor” being “led away in handcuffs by federal officials.” He also accused Habba of defamation, claiming the former Trump personal attorney now leading the New Jersey’s US Attorney’s Office spread a “false and defamatory” narrative about the events of that day following his arrest.

Habba claimed in a social media post that Baraka ignored multiple warnings from law enforcement officials to leave the facility and touted his arrest as an example that “no one is above the law.”

Ten days later, Habba announced her office had dropped its trespassing charge against the mayor “for the sake of moving forward.” At the same time, she announced new charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) for allegedly assaulting and interfering with law enforcement during Baraka’s arrest, charges McIver has called “absurd.”

Baraka argued Habba acted as a “political operative” in her personal capacity in pursuing his arrest and prosecution on false pretenses. He is pursuing unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

The New Jersey US Attorney’s Office didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

“‘Shocking’ leak from Mayor Baraka’s team: He is planning to sue the Feds,” Habba said in a post on X late Monday. “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.”

Baraka’s arrest, which led to a confrontation between Democratic officials and immigration officers, represented a flash point in the administration’s stated efforts to crack down on illegal immigration.

Baraka has voiced alarm about the conditions at the Delaney Hall facility, which is privately run by the GEO Group and in February was awarded a 15-year contract to detain immigrants.

His lawsuit says McIver invited him to meet her and two other Democratic members of Congress at Delaney Hall on May 9 for a press conference after they inspected the facility. Members of the public who had gathered outside the property began chanting that Baraka should be allowed to join the House members, according to the complaint, prompting a GEO group guard to invite him to come “inside the fence of Delaney Hall.”

Ricky J. Patel, a special agent in charge of Newark Division of Homeland Security Investigations, is identified in the suit as the official who first asked Baraka to leave the property before threatening to arrest him. Baraka later agreed to leave, but soon after Patel ordered a group of DHS agents to “take him down,” the suit said.

“The agents pushed, shoved, and assaulted the mayor’s security team and members of Congress before violently pulling Mayor Baraka’s arms and arresting him without probable cause,” the lawsuit said. Like Habba, Patel is named as a defendant who acted “outside of his employment and in his personal capacity.”

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in an email that Baraka “is trying to rewrite history with this frivolous lawsuit,” and that his actions “put the safety of our law enforcement agents and the staff at Delaney Hall at risk.”

André M. Espinosa, a magistrate judge in the US District of New Jersey, previously criticized Habba’s office, saying the “the hasty arrest followed by the dismissal of the charges” suggested a “worrisome misstep.”

Baraka is represented by Smith Mullin PC.

The case is Baraka v. Habba, D.N.J., No. 2:25-cv-06846, complaint 6/3/25.