Staff Reports
Federal law enforcement announced the arrest of 51-year-old Keith Michael Lisa after an alleged attack on Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba’s office at the Peter W. Rodino Federal Building in Newark on November 12, 2025. Authorities say the man arrived with a bat, was denied entry, discarded the weapon and then returned inside where he damaged government property before fleeing.
A federal arrest warrant was issued charging Lisa with possession of a dangerous weapon in a federal facility and depredation of federal property, charges that can carry serious federal penalties if proven. Reports indicate Habba was not in her office during the incident, but the brazenness of smashing up a U.S. Attorney’s workspace is chilling and intolerable in any civilized nation.
Attorney General Pam Bondi and Acting U.S. Attorney Habba both denounced the attack, with Bondi stressing that threats or violence against federal officers will not be tolerated and Habba vowing she will not be intimidated. FBI leadership likewise emphasized that coordinated federal action would follow, sending a clear signal that attacks on the rule of law will be met with forceful response.
This is not an isolated outburst; Bondi warned it’s part of an alarming trend of radicals aiming to intimidate law enforcement and federal officials. Conservatives have been sounding the alarm for years about the rising permissiveness toward political violence, and this episode confirms the urgent need to restore consequences rather than excuses for such behavior.
Federal partners moved quickly, with the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Homeland Security Investigations coordinating a manhunt after a $25,000 reward was offered for information leading to his capture. Law-abiding Americans should be grateful to the men and women who brought the suspect in and to a Justice Department that publicly vowed to pursue accountability.
Make no mistake: this incident will be spun by the usual left-wing apologists into a debate over motive and mental health to excuse criminality, but the facts are straightforward — someone tried to intimidate a top federal prosecutor and destroyed federal property. Alina Habba, who once served as a personal attorney to President Trump and is now overseeing federal prosecutions in New Jersey, deserves the full protection of the law and the resolve of a justice system that will not bow to mob tactics.
Hardworking Americans want order, not chaos, and they deserve public servants who enforce the law without fear. Elected officials and the justice system must now follow through with maximum penalties to deter copycat attacks and to prove that political violence will meet with punishment, not platitudes. If our country is to remain a nation of laws, we must back those who enforce them and reject the nihilistic violence that has metastasized in too many corners of our society.
