Habba Warned Over Out-Of-Court Comments About Democrat After Arrest

Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Alina Habba, received a formal caution this week from U.S. Magistrate Andre M. Espinosa regarding public comments made about Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a Democrat and gubernatorial hopeful, who was recently arrested during a protest outside a federal immigration facility.

Mayor Baraka was taken into custody last week after he and three Democratic members of Congress attempted to enter an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Newark, allegedly without authorization. Baraka, according to officials, was warned repeatedly before ultimately being arrested for trespassing.

Magistrate Espinosa issued a reminder during court proceedings that members of the Trump administration must “heed carefully the rules of professional conduct” and respect the “boundaries of propriety for public comment related to an ongoing investigation and/or prosecution.”

The comments came in the wake of public statements by Habba, a longtime attorney and now acting U.S. attorney under President Donald Trump. Habba posted on social media, stating that the mayor had “willingly chosen to disregard the law” and “committed trespass” during the incident at the ICE facility.

Despite political posturing by Democrats, the facts remain clear. Habba, in an interview with Fox News host Martha MacCallum, laid out the sequence of events.

“I will say the truth and correct them. I’m sorry you’re trying to politicize this, but let me be clear: Congresspeople have the right to investigate, and we allowed them in—number one,” Habba said.

“Number two, the mayor was inside the facility and was warned and asked to leave several times—more than once. He refused to leave, was put under arrest inside the facility, walked out when he was told he was under arrest, and then was cuffed. That’s what happened,” she continued.

Habba defended the professionalism and integrity of federal law enforcement involved in the arrest, noting, “Thanks to our team, who I stand behind—who many people don’t understand, the Department of Justice encompasses that. They did everything correctly.”

She didn’t shy away from criticizing what she sees as political theater from Democratic officials who accompanied Baraka to the protest. “If you look at the individual Twitter accounts, they have been openly saying they will go in. There’s a reason the congresspeople are standing out there running amok and running their mouths as usual,” Habba stated.

“The mayor was inside and told he would be under arrest inside when he refused to leave after several notifications that he should remove himself. He chose not to do so and then was placed under arrest when he walked out of the facility,” she reaffirmed.

Espinosa, while issuing the caution, ruled that Baraka posed no flight risk and could be released pending further legal proceedings.

“It doesn’t take me much effort to assess the facts here and conclude that the mayor of the largest city in New Jersey poses no substantial flight risk or no flight risk at all and no danger to the community that must be protected against any conditions,” he said.

As the case proceeds, it underscores the broader battle between law enforcement and left-wing officials who have grown increasingly confrontational with federal immigration policies. Habba closed her Fox appearance by calling out the political nature of the protest: “It’s called grandstanding, unfortunately. When you break the law, there’s no grandstanding that will help you.”

Baraka’s arrest and the surrounding controversy may carry significant political ramifications, not only for his own gubernatorial ambitions but for ongoing tensions between federal law enforcement and progressive local officials increasingly emboldened to challenge the rule of law.