New Jersey Mayor Sues President Trump’s Top U.S. Attorney Alina Habba

Let’s see how this ends up.

A New Jersey Mayor has sued the U.S. Attorney of the District of New Jersey, Alina Habba.

Habba’s name should sound familiar because before being appointed U.S. Attorney of New Jersey, Habba served as President Trump’s attorney.

Now, Habba will face her first test in her new position as she’s sued by Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka.

CNBC reported more on the lawsuit:

Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka sued his state’s top prosecutor, Alina Habba, on Tuesday over his arrest last month at an immigration detention center in his city.

Baraka’s federal lawsuit alleges that Habba falsely arrested, maliciously prosecuted and defamed the Democratic mayor.

Habba is President Donald Trump’s former personal defense lawyer, and his pick for interim U.S. attorney for the Garden State.

The civil suit in U.S. District Court in New Jersey accused Habba of “acting for political purposes and fulfilling her stated goal of ‘turning New Jersey red’ by instigating and/or authorizing the false arrest of Mayor Baraka, a Democrat.”

The suit comes just over two weeks after Habba said her office would drop its case against Baraka “for the sake of moving forward.”

In the same statement, Habba accused U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., of assaulting law enforcement officers during a scuffle that took place outside the detention center as Baraka was being handcuffed.

McIver is charged with two counts of assaulting, resisting, and impeding law enforcement officials in connection with the incident at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility center known as Delaney Hall.

Here’s the complaint:

JUST IN: Newark Mayor Ras Baraka sues interim US Attorney Alina Habba for "false arrest and malicious prosecution." https://t.co/3lZCLsqJkk pic.twitter.com/OojLmCLYCT

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) June 3, 2025

Here’s the moment Mayor Ras Baraka was arrestedin May:

Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested at the Delaney Hall ICE detention center after an argument with agents. Members of congress here for a scheduled visit, were shoved after trying to include Baraka in conversations after he gained entry through the gate.@news12nj #newark @News12NJ pic.twitter.com/6UDQWiIhQ7

— Amanda Lee (@amandaleetv) May 9, 2025

The Hill reported more details on the lawsuit:

Habba’s office later moved to dismiss the count after charging McIver with assaulting law enforcement while at the facility. But Baraka alleged in the lawsuit that the arrest was baseless and targeted.

The mayor said in the complaint that he was invited inside Delaney Hall’s gates by a guard who worked for the private company that owned the facility. Patel ordered Baraka to leave the grounds, despite the guard’s invitation.

Baraka said he complied, but minutes later he was “descended on” by armed and masked Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents. Patel ordered the other DHS officers to “take him down.”

The complaint alleges that before he was transported from Delaney Hall, Habba had posted on her personal social media account that the mayor “committed trespass” and had “willingly chosen to disregard the law.”

“In authorizing and/or directing the arrest of Mayor Baraka without proper legal grounds, Defendant Habba was 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 reads.

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