US Rep. Lamonica Mciver Indicted On Federal Charges From Scuffle At Detention Facility, Says 'Political Intimidation'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) On Tuesday, US Rep. LaMonica McIver, a Democrat, was indicted on federal charges alleging she assaulted and meddled with immigration officers outside a New Jersey detention centre. She said it was a“brazen attempt at political intimidation".

Acting US Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba declared the grand jury indictment, stating,“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."

McIver, in a statement, said the charges were an attempt by the Trump administration to intimidate her. She said, "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.”

Last month, Habba filed a complaint charging McIver, with two assault charges connected to her May 9 visit to Delaney Hall, a privately run, 1,000-bed ICE detention centre in Newark.

The indictment comprises three counts of assaulting, resisting, impeding and meddling with federal officials. Habba stated two of the counts hold a maximum sentence of up to eight years in prison, while a third contains a maximum sentence of one year.

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A nearly two-minute video released by the Homeland Security Department shows McIver on the facility side of a chain-link fence shortly before the mayor was arrested on the street side, where protests were taking place. McIver and uniformed officials are seen passing through the gate, after which she joins others shouting to surround the mayor. The footage captures McIver in a tightly packed crowd of people and officers. At one moment, her left and then right elbow make contact with an officer wearing a dark face covering and an olive green uniform labeled“Police".

It is unclear from the police body camera footage whether the contact was deliberate, accidental, or the result of jostling in the chaotic scene. According to the complaint, she“slammed” her forearm into an agent and then attempted to restrain him by grabbing him. The indictment states that she wrapped her arms around the mayor in an attempt to prevent his arrest and reiterates the allegations that she struck an agent with her forearm and grabbed him.

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McIver's lawyer, former US Attorney for New Jersey Paul Fishman, mentioned in a statement that they would contest the allegations“head-on” in court, stating,“The legal process will expose this prosecution for what it truly is -- political retaliation against a dedicated public servant who refuses to shy away from her oversight responsibilities."

At the same visit, Newark's mayor Ras Baraka was being arrested after he attempted to join a congressional oversight visit at the facility. He was charged for trespassing, which was later dropped. Baraka is suing Habba over what he mentioned was a malicious prosecution.

McIver, 38, entered Congress in September through a special election held to fill the 10th District seat left vacant by the death of Rep. Donald Payne Jr. She was subsequently elected to a full term in November. A native of Newark, McIver previously served as president of the Newark City Council from 2022 to 2024 and had a background working in the city's public school system.

(With inputs from AP)

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