Newark mayor sues prosecutor over arrest at immigrant detention center

New York.- The mayor of Newark in New Jersey, Ras Baraka, who last month joined a group of protesters against the deportation of immigrants and was arrested, sued this Tuesday the interim U.S. attorney for the state of New Jersey, Alina Habba, alleging that his arrest was due to political reasons.

Habba, who was the president's personal lawyer, Donald Trump, then indicated on her X account: "Newark Mayor Ras Baraka engaged in trespassing and ignored multiple warnings to withdraw from the ICE (immigration service) detention center in Newark."

On May 9th, Baraka showed up at the entrance of the Delaney Hall detention center (Newark), after waiting for a while for a group of congressmen who were on an official visit.

The agents warned him several times that he would be arrested if he did not leave, so he moved to the part where the protesters were protesting for the rights of immigrants who were in the center. Minutes later, immigration agents arrested the mayor. The arrest was captured in a video that was widely shared on social media.

The lawsuit for "malicious prosecution" also accuses the special agent in charge of the Newark field office of Homeland Security Investigations, Ricky Patel, and claims that both ordered the unjustified arrest of the Democratic mayor following the incident.

The document points out the accusation of "trespassing" against the mayor as a way to defame him publicly and to gain political advantages: "Habba has made his biased political objectives explicit".

"These objectives are antithetical to his role and ethical obligations as a U.S. prosecutor," Baraka's lawyer stated in the lawsuit, which notes that the goal was "maximum humiliation." The prosecutor criticized the mayor's lawsuit in a post on X on Monday night, hours before it was filed: "My advice to the mayor: feel free to join me in prioritizing violent crime and public safety. A much better use of time for the citizens of New Jersey."

The lawsuit filed by Baraka does not specify the economic damages and attorney's fees it is seeking, although it said earlier that what it really wanted was an apology.

Democratic Congresswoman LaMonica McIver, who was at the detention center for the supervisory visit, also has charges against her and her case is still pending, although she defended her innocence.