By Bryan Manabat
Saipan-- A former Palau prosecutor and the wife of a former president was arrested at the Saipan International Airport Monday afternoon based on a standing warrant issued by a Texas court.
Christa Nafstad Toribiong, who is married to former Palau President Johnson Toribiong, is currently detained at the Department of Corrections but was expected to be released on the same day, according to the CNMI Department of Public Safety.
DPS cannot hold Toribiong for more than 24 hours after being informed that the State of Texas would not extradite outside the jurisdictions of 50 states.
Grayson County issued the warrant of arrest on Aug. 29 based on charges of aggravated assault with deadly weapon firearms.
Toribing was arrested after law enforcement learned that she had an active warrant in Texas and detained her for being a fugitive from justice.
On May 1, Toribiong filed a complaint against Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. before a federal court in Texas for banning her from entering Palau.
The Palau government listed her as an undesirable alien in 2022.
In her complaint, Toribiong said she was unlawfully blacklisted without due process under the rules of the Compact of Free Association.
She argued that under the compact, she could only be placed on the blacklist on "reasonable statutory grounds."
Toribiong wanted the court to award her $150,000 in damages and her name to be removed from the blacklist.
The U.S. Department of Justice later asked the court to dismiss the case because Whipps is a sitting head of state and is immune from the lawsuit.
Toribiong then filed for a voluntary dismissal which the Texas Eastern District Court granted on August 27, and dismissed the complaint without prejudice.
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