Rep. LaMonica McIver, New Jersey Democrat, is facing federal criminal charges for getting physical with ICE agents who tried to block her from entering a detention facility in Newark earlier this month.
Alina Habba, the acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, announced Monday that she was charging Ms. McIver with assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement.
Ms. McIver dismissed the charges as “purely political” and said she looks forward to the truth being laid out in court.
President Trump appointed Ms. Habba, who served as one of his personal attorneys since 2021, to fill the role of U.S. attorney for New Jersey on an interim basis. He has not yet nominated someone permanently to the role, which requires Senate confirmation.
Ms. Habba said she sought to avoid filing criminal charges and gave Ms. McIver “every opportunity to come to a resolution, but she has unfortunately declined.”
Ms. McIver made an unannounced visit to the Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark on May 9, along with Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Robert J. Menendez, both also New Jersey Democrats.
They were there to conduct oversight and are not required to give a heads up under the law, but ICE agents sought to prevent them from entering the facility.
That resulted in a skirmish between the ICE agents and the visitors. The Homeland Security Department released a video that showed Ms. McIver throwing an elbow into one ICE agent’s back and appearing to strike a different agent with her fist.
“That conduct cannot be overlooked by the chief federal law enforcement official in the state of New Jersey, and it is my constitutional obligation to ensure that our federal law enforcement is protected when executing their duties,” Ms. Habba said in a statement.
Ms. McIver said in a statement that the lawmakers’ oversight visit to Delaney Hall went awry when ICE agents “created an unnecessary and unsafe confrontation” by arresting Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka, who sought to join them in visiting the facility.
“The charges against me are purely political – they mischaracterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight,” Ms. McIver said. “This administration will never stop me from working for the people in our district and standing up for what is right.”
Ms. Habba dropped a misdemeanor trespassing charge that was brought against Mr. Baraka. Only members of Congress are allowed to show up for an oversight visit without notice, so the mayor was not protected from arrest.
“In the spirit of public interest, I have invited the mayor to tour Delaney Hall,” Ms. Habba said. “The government has nothing to hide at this facility, and I will personally accompany the mayor so he can see that firsthand.”
The three Congress members were allowed to tour the facility on May 9 after Mr. Baraka’s arrest.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and the Democratic leadership team issued a joint statement calling the charges against Ms. McIver “extreme, morally bankrupt” and “a blatant attempt by the Trump administration to intimidate Congress.”
“There is no credible evidence that Rep. McIver engaged in any criminal activity, and she would not have been permitted to tour the facility had she done anything wrong,” they said.
The Democratic leaders said Ms. McIver and the other members were upholding their constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight.
“They didn’t assault anyone, but were themselves aggressively mistreated by illegally masked individuals,” the leaders said.
Mr. Jeffries and his leadership team said the Democratic Caucus would present a response to the Trump administration’s “illegitimate abuse of power.”
“An attack on one of us is an attack on the American people,” they said. “House Democrats will respond vigorously in the days to come at a time, place and manner of our choosing.”
