Acting NJ U.S. Attorney Alina Habba says Rep. LaMonica McIver indicted
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- Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-NJ, was indicted on three counts related to an incident at an ICE detention center in Newark.
- The charges stem from an incident in which Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested, though charges against him have been dropped.
- McIver, along with other members of Congress, was at the Delaney Hall facility to inspect the treatment of detainees.
A grand jury has indicted U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver on charges related to an incident at Delaney Hall in Newark last month, said a social media post by acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba.
McIver was at Delaney Hall with Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez to "inspect the treatment of ICE detainees at Delaney Hall." All three are Democrats.
The congresswoman said in a statement that 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."
“This indictment is no more justified than the original charges, and is an effort by Trump’s administration to dodge accountability for the chaos ICE caused and scare me out of doing the work I was elected to do,” McIver said. “But it won’t work — I will not be intimidated. The facts are on our side, I will be entering a plea of not guilty, I’m grateful for the support of my community, and I look forward to my day in court.”
Habba said the federal grand jury “returned a three-count indictment” against McIver for “forcibly impeding and interfering with federal law enforcement officers.”
“It is my constitutional obligation as the chief federal law enforcement officer for New Jersey to ensure that our federal partners are protected when executing their duties,” she said. “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.”
The three counts have a maximum penalty of eight years for count one, an additional maximum penalty of eight years for count two and a maximum penalty of one year for count three.
McIver's lawyer, Paul Fishman, who served as U.S. attorney in New Jersey during the Obama administration, said June 10 that 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."
McIver: 'Fulfilling our lawful oversight'
McIver said in a statement on May 19 that she and her colleagues 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," she said. "The charges against me are purely political — they mischaracterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight."
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested at Delaney Hall on charges of trespassing, but the charges have since been dropped. He is suing Habba alleging “false arrest and malicious prosecution.”
Fishman said in May that the "decision to charge Congresswoman McIver is spectacularly inappropriate."
"She went to Delaney Hall to do her job. As a member of Congress, she has the right and responsibility to see how ICE is treating detainees," Fishman said. "Rather than facilitating that inspection, ICE agents chose to escalate what should have been a peaceful situation into chaos. This prosecution is an attempt to shift the blame for ICE's behavior to Congresswoman McIver. In the courtroom, facts — not headlines — will matter."
Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com