Overview

• Baraka filed the suit on June 3 in U.S. District Court, alleging Habba ordered a baseless arrest and publicly defamed him.
• The complaint also names Homeland Security agent Ricky Patel for authorizing Baraka’s detention outside the facility.
• Habba’s office dropped the trespass charge on May 19, prompting Federal Magistrate Judge André Espinosa to call the reversal an “embarrassing” prosecutorial error.
• Baraka was arrested during an authorized congressional oversight tour of the 1,000-bed Delaney Hall ICE facility with Democratic lawmakers.
• Filed one week before New Jersey’s June 10 Democratic primary, the suit underscores Baraka’s clash with Trump-era immigration enforcement and could influence his gubernatorial campaign.