Federal investigators are searching for a “disgruntled” man they say showed up at acting New Jersey U.S. Attorney Alina Habba’s office building with a baseball bat, two sources familiar with the matter said.
The unidentified man was carrying a bat when arrived outside the Peter Rodino Federal Building in Newark on Wednesday night, the two sources said. The man was not allowed entry.
He returned later without the bat and was allowed in after going through a security screening, the sources said.
A senior official familiar with the incident said an early review shows the man went upstairs to the U.S. attorney’s office and told the receptionist, who was behind secure glass, that he was there to speak to Habba.
He was told he did not have an appointment and waited in the foyer area for a short time before he stormed out into the public hallway and tore down two pictures that were hanging, the official said.
He then fled the building.
The official said the man never got into the actual prosecutors’ offices, which are behind a locked buzzer door. Law enforcement is reviewing security camera footage to try to identify him, the official said.
In a post on X, Habba said Thursday, “I will not be intimidated by radical lunatics for doing my job.”
“Thankfully, Alina is ok,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in a pair of posts on X.
“We will find this person, and the individual will be brought to justice,” the post said, adding, “Any violence or threats of violence against any federal officer will not be tolerated. Period.”
Trump nominated Habba, formerly his personal lawyer, in March to serve as acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey, a position with a 120-day limit. The president nominated her in July to serve in the role permanently after her term expired but a federal judge ruled in August that the appointment was unlawful. The judge paused his decision while the appeals process plays out, so she has remained in the role.
