Baraka sues Habba, fed agent
Newark Mayor says arrest violated his rights
By: Ricardo Kaulessar
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... Newark Mayor Ras Baraka is suing interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba over his arrest outside Delaney Hall in May.
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Baraka announced the lawsuit on June 3 [2025] in front of federal court in Newark. In the lawsuit, he named Habba and Homeland security Special Agent Ricky Patel, claiming he was subject to "false arrest and malicious prosecution" in violations of his Forth Amendment rights.
..... Baraka, A Democrat who is running for governor of New Jersey, was arrested by federal agents after a May 9 [2025] visit to the immigrant detention center with New Jersey Congress members LaMonica McIver, Bob Menendez and Bonnie Watson Coleman, all Democrats.
..... After a confrontation with federal agents, Baraka was then led off in handcuffs by federal agents and taken to the Department of Homeland Security's Newark Field Office on Frelinghuysen Avenue, where he was detained for several hours before being released.
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In the lawsuit, Baraka said that based on an order by Patel to Homeland Security officers during the Delaney Hall visits to "take him down," the agents "pushed, shoved, and assaulted" his security team and the Congress members before "violently pulling Mayor Baraka's arms and arresting him without probable cause."
..... Also, in the lawsuit, Baraka said Habba made "false and defamatory statements" about him after his arrest on social media and on TV.
..... NorthJersey.com rached out for comment to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey and the Department of Homeland Security, but did not hear back immediately from either office.
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However, Habba tweeted before Baraka's press conference about a "shocking" leak of his lawsuit. She went on to say, "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."
..... Flanked by his lawyer, Nancy Erika Smith, Baraka said that he field the lawsuit because he wanted to dispel the notion that he had done something wrong when he visited Delaney Hall.
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"'The reality is I didn't do anything . I went down there for a press conference. I was invited inside the gate. People approached me and were very loud and abusive to me," Baraka said.
..... He also said that the lawsuit was filed in part because of the recent lawsuit field by the Justice Department on May 22, [2025] against Newark, Paterson, Hoboken, and Jersey City for allegedly interfering with the government's effort to deport undocumented immigrates. he then said he did not sue Habba and Patel out of "vengeance," but because they did not have the right to violate his constitution rights.
..... Baraka has targeted the 1,100-bed Delaney Hall as a symbol of the Trump administration's immigration policy for months, including a March [2025] appearance where he was joined by social justice activists. he said the building, refurbished to accommodate detainees, had not fulfilled the appropriate certificate of occupancy permits , and vowed to oppose its reopening as the protect slogged through the Newark City Hall bureaucracy.
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Homeland Security says those allegations are false.
..... Smith said that Baraka's arrest was a "targeted spectacle" based on Habba tweeting about Baraka a few minutes before he was led away from Delaney Hall, and said that he could have been handed a ticket for what would normally be minor charges. Smith said Habba and Patel had 45 days to respond to the lawsuit.
..... Congresswoman McIver, who was also charged by the federal government "assaulting, resisting, and impeding" Homeland Security investigators while she was with Baraka on May 9, [2025]
issued a statement about Baraka's lawsuit.
..... "The way Mayor Baraka was treated at Delaney Hall was outrageous. It is beyond clear that there was never any legal or factual basis to arrest or charge him. The administration's playing politics with our justice system in disgraceful," McIver said in the statement on June 3. [2025]