Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has filed a lawsuit against Alina Habba, the interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, after he was arrested last month for protesting at a new immigration detention center.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, accuses Habba of false arrest, malicious prosecution, and defamation and says that the attorney “acted as a political operative, outside of any function intimately related to the judicial process.” Habba previously worked as President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, including as part of his team in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case.
Baraka’s suit argues that Habba has made her “biased political goals explicit,” including criticizing Democratic officeholders and saying she hopes to turn the state red, goals which the lawsuit says are “antithetical to her role and ethical obligations as a U.S. attorney.”
In addition, the lawsuit alleges that the U.S. attorney, acting in her personal capacity, made defamatory statements that “falsely accused Mayor Baraka of criminal conduct and misconduct, despite Habba’s actual knowledge and reckless disregard of facts demonstrating his innocence.”
At the time of his arrest, the Newark mayor was accused of trespassing and disregarding warnings that he would be arrested if he did not leave. He insisted he did nothing wrong and charges against him were dropped.
Baraka is currently running in the Democratic primary to replace term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy. In-person early voting begins today, with the primary election taking place next Tuesday.
