Democrat Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has filed a lawsuit against interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba, accusing her of “false arrest, malicious prosecution, and defamation.”
“Plaintiff brings this action seeking damages and to remedy Defendants’ subjecting him to false arrest and malicious prosecutions in violation of his Constitutional rights under the Fourth Amendment,” the lawsuit says. “Plaintiff also brings an action for defamation against Defendant Habba.”
“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 filing claims.
Baraka said in a statement announcing the lawsuit, “Today I filed a federal lawsuit against Alina Habba and DHS Agent Ricky Patel for false arrest, malicious prosecution, and defamation. They abused their power to violently arrest me at Delaney Hall despite being invited inside. No one is above the law.”
Prosecutors dropped charges against Baraka days after his arrest “for the sake of moving forward,” Habba said on May 19.
“In the spirit of public interest, I have invited the mayor to our Delaney Hall,” the statement continued. “The government has nothing to hide at this facility, and I will personally accompany the mayor so he can see that firsthand.”
At the time of Baraka’s arrest, Habba declared, “The Mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey this afternoon. He has willingly chosen to disregard the law. That will not stand in this state. He has been taken into custody. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.”
