A man who attempted to “confront” acting US Attorney Alina Habba and allegedly destroyed property in her New Jersey office has been arrested, the Justice Department announced on Friday. DOJ and FBI officials identified the suspect as Keith Michael Lisa, who has ties to both New Jersey and New York City.
“Threats against our U.S. Attorneys aren’t just attacks on individuals, they’re attacks on the rule of law. And we will respond every time,” FBI Director Kash Patel added.
Law enforcement officials say Lisa entered Habba’s office with a baseball bat but was denied entry. They add that Lisa returned later without the bat, then went to the floor where Habba’s office is located in an attempt to “confront” Habba, Bondi said.
“Last night, an individual attempted to confront one of our U.S. Attorneys — my dear friend @USAttyHabba — destroyed property in her office, and then fled the scene. Thankfully, Alina is ok. Any violence or threats of violence against any federal officer will not be tolerated. Period,” Bondi noted earlier this week before Lisa was identified and arrested.
“We will find this person, and the individual will be brought to justice,” she wrote, adding that “this Department will use every legal tool available to ensure their safety and hold violent offenders fully accountable.”
Habba said in a post on X that she would “not be intimidated by radical lunatics for doing my job.”
Habba is a close Trump ally and one of his former personal attorneys. After a brief stint in the White House, she was appointed as the lead federal prosecutor in New Jersey.
She is overseeing the case against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.), whom prosecutors accuse of striking law enforcement officers with her forearms during a chaotic confrontation that erupted as Democratic lawmakers attempted to visit an immigration detention facility.
A judge ruled Thursday that the case may move forward, rejecting McIver’s arguments that the prosecution is retaliatory.
Also, several posts on X made by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) referencing the May incident at the Delaney Hall immigrant detention center in New Jersey, in which McIver was charged with assaulting federal immigration officers, have been removed following an order from Biden-appointed U.S. District Judge Jamel Semper.
McIver (D-N.J.) was charged with assaulting federal immigration officers during a congressional visit to the Delaney Hall immigrant detention center in Newark. She has pleaded not guilty and faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted.
McIver argued that the charges violate the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause and are politically motivated, though she was seen on video physically pushing and striking a federal ICE agent.
After the May incident, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued several statements and social media posts criticizing Rep. McIver and other Democratic lawmakers who visited the Delaney Hall facility that day.
In response, McIver’s legal team filed a motion seeking to prohibit the government from making what they described as “extrajudicial statements” that could prejudice the ongoing legal proceedings, according to the New Jersey Globe. The motion cited eight posts on X and one official press release as examples, Newsweek reported.
“As of this afternoon, the posts referenced in Defense Exhibits N through U have been removed,” U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche noted in a legal filing dated October 30, Newsweek reported. “The post referenced in Defense Exhibit V, however, remains available on X.com, as it appears to be controlled by a journalist and private citizen, and the Government lacks the authority to remove the post.”
