Dem Rep. LaMonica McIver Charged With Assaulting ICE Officers at N.J. Detention Facility

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The U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey has decided to bring charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) for allegedly assaulting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers during a scuffle outside a detention facility in Newark earlier this month.

“After a thorough review of the video footage of Delaney Hall and a full investigation from HSI, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey has made the determination to charge Congresswoman LaMonica McIver for assaulting, resisting, and impeding law enforcement officers,” Director of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced on X Monday evening.

“No one is above the law. If any person, regardless of political party, influence or status, assaults a law enforcement officer as we witnessed Congresswoman McIver do, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” she added. “We thank our brave ICE law enforcement officers for their service to this great nation.”

During a protest on May 9 at the Delaney Hall detention center, a privately run facility under contract with ICE, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) was arrested and charged with trespassing after entering the facility and refusing to leave.

An ugly scuffle ensued as several Democrat lawmakers surrounded Baraka in an apparent attempt to shield the mayor from the ICE agents making the arrest.

An online video shows McIver screaming at the officers as they tried to break through their blockade.

The congresswoman,  a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, can clearly be seen throwing punches and shoving law enforcement officers as they tried to regain control.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey said in a press release Monday that the trespassing charge against Baraka has been dismissed “for the sake of moving forward.”

However, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba stated on X that her office is charging McIver with a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 111(a)(1) for assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement.

Habba said she “persistently” attempted to address  McIver’s actions without bringing criminal charges but the congresswoman rebuffed her efforts.

In a statement posted on social media, McIver called the charges against her “purely political” and said she looks forward “to the truth being laid out clearly in court.”

“Earlier this month, I joined my colleagues to inspect the treatment of ICE detainees at Delaney Hall in my district. We were fulfilling our lawful oversight responsibilities, as members of Congress have done many times before, and our visit should have been peaceful and short. Instead, ICE agents created an unnecessary and unsafe confrontation when they chose to arrest Mayor Baraka,” McIver said