Man Who Trashed NJ’s Top Prosecutor’s Office Caught After Manhunt, FBI Says

After a brief manhunt, the man thought to have ransacked Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba’s office has been captured, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

On Wednesday, Keith Michael Lisa, 51, entered the Peter W. Rodino Federal Building in Newark with a baseball bat, according to authorities.

Once he was denied entry by security, Lisa later returned without the bat and destroyed property in Habba’s office by hand after confronting her, the FBI says. He was able to leave the office before being arrested.

See Related: He Was Denied Entry With A Bat. So He Ransacked Trump’s Controversial NJ Attorney’s Office By Hand

The following day, the FBI issued a federal warrant for the arrest of Lisa, considering him “dangerous,” and offering a $25,000 reward for anyone who provided information leading to his capture.

While hailing from California, FBI officials said Lisa has ties to North Jersey, specifically Mahwah, and New York City.

U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced on Saturday morning that the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations had arrested Lisa.

“No one will get away with threatening or intimidating our great US Attorneys or the destruction of their offices,” Bondi posted on X.

Lisa is charged with possession of a dangerous weapon in a federal facility and depredation of federal property.

FBI officials have not announced exactly when or where Lisa was arrested, but some outlets have reported that he was captured in Barnegat, Ocean County, between Friday night and Saturday morning.

Habba herself has also addressed the incident on X, saying, “I will not be intimidated by radical lunatics for doing my job.”

Habba later commented on Lisa’s arrest on Saturday, saying, “We got him.”

The confrontation comes as Habba’s position as Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey is put in question.

The former personal lawyer for Donald Trump was appointed to the position by the president in March. She was supposed to step down from the position in July, until the Trump administration moved to keep her there without approval from the U.S. Senate, which is required by federal law.

Federal judges intended to replace Habba with First Assistant U.S. Attorney Desiree Grace, who was fired by Bondi before she could be appointed.

A month following Habba’s unapproved reappointment, a federal judge ordered that her position was unlawful and that she was required to step down.

“I conclude that she is not statutorily eligible to perform the functions and duties of the office of the United States Attorney and has therefore unlawfully held the role since July 24, 2025,” U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann wrote in the August ruling.

Habba and the Trump administration have filed an appeal on Brann's ruling, which has not yet seen a conclusion. Meanwhile, New Jersey court cases have been derailed as a result of the litigation.

Read More:

• Trump's Controversial NJ Prosecutor Confronted, Office Ransacked, U.S. Attorney General Says
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• Trump Loyalist Unlawfully Serving As NJ’s Top Prosecutor, Judge Rules
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