Rep. LaMonica McIver indicted on federal charges after scuffle at ICE facility
FILE - Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., speaks during a news conference with the Congressional Progressive Caucus in the Capitol Visitor Center to oppose Elon Musk gaining access to the Treasury Department's federal payment system, on Thursday, Feb. 6,
U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver was indicted Tuesday on federal charges alleging she assaulted and interfered with immigration officers outside a New Jersey detention center while Newark’s mayor was being arrested after he tried to join a congressional oversight visit at the facility.
Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba announced the grand jury indictment in a post on X.
"While people are free to express their views for or against particular policies, they must not do so in a manner that endangers law enforcement and the communities those officers serve," Habba said.
McIver indicted
McIver was charged in a complaint by Habba last month with two assault charges stemming from the May 9 visit to Newark’s Delaney Hall — a 1,000-bed, privately owned facility that Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses as a detention center.
The indictment includes three counts of assaulting, resisting, impeding and interfering with federal officials. Habba said two of the counts carry a maximum sentence of up to eight years in prison. A third has a maximum sentence of one year.
What they're saying:
In a statement, McIver said the charges amounted to the Trump administration trying to scare her.
"The facts of this case will prove I was simply doing my job and will expose these proceedings for what they are: a brazen attempt at political intimidation," she said.
McIver's lawyer, former U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Paul Fishman, said in a statement that they would challenge the allegations "head-on" in court.
What happened?
Rep. McIver charged with assault
Protestors are outside Delaney Hall to demonstrate against Representative LaMonica McIver being charged with assault. FOX 5 NY's Antwan Lewis is on the scene.
The backstory:
A nearly two-minute clip released by the Homeland Security Department shows McIver on the facility side of a chain-link fence just before the arrest of the mayor on the street side of the fence, where other people had been protesting.
She and uniformed officials go through the gate, and she joins others shouting that they should circle the mayor. The video shows McIver in a tightly packed group of people and officers.
At one point, her left elbow and then her right elbow push into an officer wearing a dark face covering and an olive green uniform emblazoned with the word "Police" on it.
It isn’t clear from police bodycam video whether that contact was intentional, incidental or a result of jostling in the chaotic scene.
The complaint says she "slammed" her forearm into an agent then tried to restrain the agent by grabbing him.
Local perspective:
McIver, 38, is a Newark native who joined Congress after winning a special election in September 2024 to fill the seat of the late Rep. Donald Payne Jr. She was elected to a full term in November 2024.
Before coming to Washington, McIver served as president of the Newark City Council and previously worked in Newark’s public school system. She has deep local ties and is viewed as a rising figure in the city’s political landscape.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from previous reporting by FOX 5 New York and a tweet from Rep. LaMonica McIver and New Jersey U.S. Attorney Alina Habba. The Associated Press also contributed.