Reuters US Domestic
By Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The mayor of Newark, New Jersey, who was arrested by U.S. immigration agents at a detention center last month, sued two law enforcement officials on Tuesday, alleging the arrest was part of a politically motivated move by President Donald Trump's administration.
Mayor Ras Baraka, a Democrat who is now running for New Jersey governor, alleges in the lawsuit that he was wrongly arrested for trespassing without cause and maliciously prosecuted following a tense confrontation at a privately run immigration detention center in Newark on May 9.
The encounter drew widespread attention at a time of growing clashes between the Trump administration and Democrats over Trump's hardline approach to immigration.
Baraka was arrested after U.S. authorities said he refused to leave the facility, known as Delaney Hall, where U.S. Representative LaMonica McIver and two other Democratic members of Congress from New Jersey were conducting an oversight visit.
His complaint names as defendants Alina Habba, the acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey who brought the case and is a former personal lawyer to Trump, and Ricky Patel, a Department of Homeland Security official in Newark, who allegedly ordered the arrest.
In a post on X following reports that Baraka planned to sue, Habba said Baraka should "join me in prioritizing violent crime and public safety."
"Far better use of time for the great citizens of New Jersey," she wrote.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement: "The American people saw with their own eyes his actions that put the safety of our law enforcement agents and the staff at Delaney Hall at risk."
Prosecutors dropped the case against Baraka 10 days after his arrest. Habba said the decision was made "for the sake of moving forward" but offered no further explanation.
Her office then charged McIver with assaulting and resisting officers who were trying to arrest Baraka. McIver has not yet entered a plea but has denounced the charges as political intimidation.
Baraka's lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in New Jersey, alleges a guard invited Baraka onto the property and he agreed to leave after he was threatened with arrest.
Stephen Demanovich, one of the prosecutors assigned to the McIver case and the now-dismissed case against Baraka, is not a career member of the office, and was tapped by Habba in May to serve as her counsel. Shortly before joining her office, he moderated a panel hosted by conservative legal group the Federalist Society entitled "The Weaponization of DOJ?"
Baraka's case is likely to face legal barriers given broad protections for U.S. officials acting in an official role. His complaint alleges Habba and Patel acted outside their formal responsibilities.
The lawsuit alleges violations of the U.S. Constitution and defamation. It seeks an unspecified sum in damages for emotional distress, reputational damage and other harms.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward, additional reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Scott Malone, Hugh Lawson and Sonali Paul)