BREAKING: The Mayor of Newark just sued Alina Habba, essentially saying she hurt his feelings when she arrested him for trespassing & obstructing ICE’s operation.
“As a result of the false arrest, Plaintiff suffered reputational harm, emotional distress, and other damage.”
“The prosecution was predicated on demonstrably false assertions that Plaintiff has unlawfully trespassed, despite clear evidence to the contrary, including video footage and eyewitness accounts.” – Crooked Ras Baraka
Apparently, this guy thinks the internet doesn’t exist. We all saw what happened.
HT George
RECOMMANED STORIES
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka filed a lawsuit against interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba on Tuesday, accusing her of malicious prosecution over his arrest outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility last month.
The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages and is against Habba and the Department of Homeland Security special agent who Baraka claims unlawfully took him into custody on May 9 at Delaney Hall, where he was joined by three members of Congress for what they said they intended to be an inspection of conditions at the detention facility.
“The false Affidavit was made with malice, particularly seeking to assure that the evening news included videos of the Black Mayor of Newark, New Jersey being led away in handcuffs by federal officials,” the lawsuit said.
In the suit, Baraka accused Habba and Assistant Homeland Security Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin of seeking to politicize his arrest by promoting a “false and defamatory narrative” about the events that led to him being taken into custody.
While Habba and McLaughlin accused Baraka of attempting to “storm” the facility, his lawsuit noted he was actually invited onto the property by an agent of the GEO Group, a private prison operator that runs Delaney Hall, and was only placed under arrest after he had exited the gates when instructed.
According to the timeline in Baraka’s suit, he was surrounded by roughly 20 agents outside of the facility after they were allegedly ordered by DHS special agent Ricky Patel to “take him down.”
The sudden escalation, according to Baraka, was part of a deliberate effort to “effect maximum humiliation” on him.
Habba’s office moved to dismiss its case against Baraka, though prosecutors in a May 21 hearing were admonished by the federal judge assigned to Baraka’s case who said the charges against him appeared to be rushed and based on politics.
