LaMonica McIver, the New Jersey Democratic representative who is facing felony charges after a recent incident during a congressional oversight visit to an Ice detention facility, pleaded not guilty in federal court on Wednesday.
Prosecutors allege that McIver forcibly interfered with law enforcement officials in a 9 May confrontation outside Delaney Hall federal immigration facility in Newark, New Jersey. If found guilty, she faces a maximum sentence of 17 years in prison.
They claim that McIver assaulted two federal officers during what the government claims was an unauthorized protest. McIver is alleged to have entered a restricted area and attempted to intervene when federal agents arrested Newark mayor, Ras Baraka. Baraka was initially charged with trespassing over the incident, but those charges were later dropped. McIver was indictedon three counts, by Alina Habba – a US attorney for New Jersey who previously served as Donald Trump’s personal lawyer – for her part in the incident.
McIver contends that she and fellow Democratic representatives Rob Menendez and Bonnie Coleman were conducting a legitimate congressional oversight visit, not demonstrating, before the situation escalated.
“At the end of the day, we went to Delaney Hall for an oversight visit,” McIver said. “Members of Congress have the right to hold these agencies accountable. They will not intimidate me. They will not stop me from doing my job.”
Outside the court on Wednesday, McIver accused the government of intimidation.
“We will fight this. At the end of the day, this is all about political intimidation. The Trump administration and his cronies have weaponized the federal government. I will not stand for it. They will not intimidate me. They will not stop me from doing my job. New Jersey says no to Trump’s hateful policies. Do not back down. This is what they want us to do,” she said.
Baraka was also at the hearing on Wednesday, telling NJ.com that federal authorities “are not going to throw her in jail on these trumped-up charges”.
Referring to the Trump administration’s actions, he added: “If anybody goes, you’re going to go first. You better start lining your bodies up and walking out the side door, because we won’t rest until you get the hell out of our city.”
Baraka previously said of the incident: “The aggression was from the people in masks, hiding their identity. And the whole world has seen it.”
Paul Fishman, an attorney for McIver, said his client’s visit to the Newark facility was part of her constitutional duty.
“Congresswoman McIver pleaded not guilty because she is not guilty,” Fishman said. “On May 9, she was at Delaney Hall to carry out her responsibilities as a Member of Congress.”
The government claims that the inspection coincided with an immigration protest rally and the delegation overheard warnings issued to Baraka to leave a secured area.
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The complaint alleges that when officers moved to arrest Baraka, McIver and others surrounded him and prevented the officers from putting him in handcuffs. During the attempt to arrest Baraka, McIver allegedly placed her arms around him and slammed her forearm into the body of one law enforcement officer, using “each of her forearms to forcibly strike a second officer”.
Earlier this week, Habba was subject to a complaint by the Campaign for Accountability filed with the New Jersey office of attorney ethics.
That complaint alleges that Habba acted improperly since becoming New Jersey’s US attorney. It cites her actions in the McIver case, along with comments about turning “New Jersey red” and announcing investigations into the Democratic governor Phil Murphy and attorney general Matt Platkin over immigration.
“In an atmosphere where other oversight bodies are caving to political influence, the bar’s duty to independently enforce these rules is ever more important,” Michelle Kuppersmith, the group’s executive director, told Politico.
After filing charges against McIver in May, Habba said she had “persistently made efforts to address these issues without bringing criminal charges and have given Rep McIver every opportunity to come to a resolution, but she has unfortunately declined”.
