Ras Baraka vows to fight "silly" charge filed by Trump's ex-lawyer
The Newark mayor's supporters jeered interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, who may be on thin ice with the judge.
Trump said he wants retribution. We’re investigating those who could try to carry that out.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka vowed today to fight his criminal charge at trial in July, as throngs of his supporters booed the ex-attorney for Donald Trump who is prosecuting him.
Interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba approached a federal courthouse today to loud boos and chants of “Shame,” denouncing her decision to prosecute Baraka for monitoring a private immigration detention center.
On Friday, Habba drew the ire of the judge by trying to convict Baraka by tweet.
U.S. District Judge Andre M. Espinosa apparently noticed, warning officials like her to “heed carefully to the rules of professional conduct” and “boundaries of propriety for public comment related to an ongoing investigation and/or prosecution.”
Prosecutors leveled, in their words, a “petty offense” of misdemeanor trespass against Baraka under a federal statute that allows them to pursue a state crime. (Today, Baraka put a finer point on it today, calling it “silly.”) The government highlighted the trivial nature of the charge to get out of a hearing scheduled for Thursday, but Judge Espinosa deferred to the defense’s objection to keep an appearance on the calendar today, where he set the speedy trial date.
Civic Duty Alert
Ras Baraka’s arrest falls in the middle of primary season where he’s a gubernatorial candidate. However that may shake up the race, it’s a good reminder for readers to prepare for primary elections in New York, New Jersey and Virginia this June. Check out this calendar.
The losing battles of Trump’s “warrior”
Habba knows what it’s like to get dressed down by a federal judge for doing his bidding too aggressively. In 2023, a federal judge in Florida sanctioned Trump and Habba nearly $1 million for filing a “completely frivolous” racketeering suit against Hillary Clinton and dozens of Justice Department and FBI officials.
Another judge threatened to throw her in jail a year later for her aggressive antics in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case, and her representation of Trump in a civil fraud case resulted in a more than half-billion dollar judgment against him.
That brand of lawyering earned her Trump’s praise as his “warrior” — and a non-Senate confirmed spot as the Garden State’s top prosecutor. Habba appears to have been carrying out a pro-Trump wish-list ever since.
Just a few days into her job, Habba dropped a foreign bribery case involving the Indian government. Trump, a friend of Indian president Narendra Modi, has long opposed the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which makes those kind of payoffs illegal.
Later that month, Habba opened up a so-called “Election Integrity Task Force,” using the same buzzwords for her lies denying Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
Her decision to prosecute the Democratic mayor of New Jersey’s most populous city may have sparked the biggest national outcry of her still nascent tenure.
“Grave risk of serious injuries or death”
Earlier this year, the City of Newark sued Geo Group, the private prison company behind the immigration facility that Baraka protested. The lawsuit, originally filed in state court, said that the detention center refused to let inspectors check whether the more than 1,100-bed facility is “fit for occupation.”
“The property poses a threat to the public and grave risk of serious injuries or death,” the city alleged in a 39-page legal brief.
Yet the Trump administration has locked up an unknown number of immigrants inside that building.
That’s why Baraka joined a congressional delegation to try to perform oversight on the building when he was arrested on May 9. Before today’s hearing, Baraka posted a video of the alleged trespass: In the video, a gate can be seen being opened for him.
“We were invited in,” Baraka said on social media.
The New Jersey Democratic representatives joining him that day were Bonnie Watson Coleman, Robert Menendez Jr., and LaMonica McIver. Baraka said during a speech following today’s hearing that he was the only person put in a cell among the delegation.
“We cannot arrest people simply because they disagree,” Baraka said. “We cannot target people because their political views are separate from ours. We cannot subjugate people, take their pictures, mugshots, and fingerprints because we believe that somehow they’re opposed to our position.”
“That, ladies and gentlemen, is authoritarianism,” he thundered.
Related:
The Detention Watch Network started a petition, in English and Spanish, urging New Jersey elected officials to oppose the Delaney Hall facility. It’s close to its goal.
On Saturday, Rep. Josh Gottheimer opened up a formal inquiry into what he denounced as “blatant intimidation and overreach.” Gottheimer, another Democrat from New Jersey, wrote: “There is no reason the Mayor should have been arrested. His detainment was based not on law, but rather it appears retaliatory and politically motivated, raising grave concerns about selective enforcement.” Gottheimer demanded the dismissal of the case and an explanation from Trump’s FBI director Kash Patel and Homeland Security director Kristi Noem.
Habba rose to her position without Senate vetting, where she would face strong opposition to any effort to make her temporary position permanent. Since interim positions are capped at 120 days, Habba’s term would expire in late July.