Critics of Trump's US attorney appointments try legal hammer, then bat to show their opposition

A recent spate of actions against attorneys appointed by President Donald Trump, both violent and nonviolent, raises concerns that Trump's detractors will go to any length to intimidate and remove his allies in the legal system. 

Authorities are searching for a man who reportedly tried to gain access to a federal building in Newark, N.J., on Wednesday night while carrying a baseball bat, then returned unarmed and damaged the office of interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba. 

The suspect, described by witnesses as agitated, was stopped at security the first time because of the bat but cleared screening on his second attempt and headed straight to the seventh-floor suite where Habba works.

After staff refused to let him see the acting prosecutor – a former Trump personal attorney – he allegedly shouted profanities, tore framed photographs off the walls, and overturned furniture in the reception area before fleeing. Habba was not in the building at the time and reported no injuries, though the vandalism has intensified worries about rising threats to officials tied to the Trump administration.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday labeled the episode “an assault on the rule of law” and pledged a swift investigation, noting the man had been seen earlier “pacing aggressively” outside with the bat tucked under his arm. 

Habba, who took the interim post in March 2025 after President Trump’s inauguration, wrote on social media that “thugs won’t stop me from upholding justice.” 

The FBI is examining surveillance video to identify the individual; no charges have been filed. Separately, Habba’s lack of Senate confirmation continues to face courtroom scrutiny, with a federal judge ruling in August that her appointment violated procedural requirements.

Federal appeals court judges late last month questioned the Trump administration’s maneuvers to keep Habba in place as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor, but they have yet to issue a ruling.

Among the questions was what role Habba was filling considering she was listed as a “special attorney” and as acting U.S. attorney in a possible attempt to circumvent the appointments clause, according to the Associated Press.

Lindsey Halligan, a former Trump White House aide appointed interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, was targeted in federal court Wednesday as lawyers for former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James sought to dismiss indictments she signed against them hours before statutes of limitations expired. U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie, a Bill Clinton appointee, questioned the Justice Department’s authority to retroactively validate Halligan’s actions after she replaced Erik Siebert, who had declined to pursue the cases. 

Halligan, who played a key role in Trump’s legal defense during his classified documents case, signed the indictments alleging Comey misled Congress and James abused her office in a politically motivated mortgage fraud probe against Trump.

Currie is expected to rule before Thanksgiving on motions to quash the indictments.