NJ Rep. McIver says Trump 'will not stop me from doing my job' after federal charges

U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver said Wednesday she did not show up to a Newark, New Jersey ICE detention facility in May to protest — but to do her job.

The congressmember from New Jersey made the comments at a rally outside a federal courthouse in her hometown of Newark, where she’d just pleaded not guilty to charges in an indictment that alleges she got physical with Department of Homeland Security agents and interfered as they arrested the city’s Mayor Ras Baraka on trespassing charges early last month.

“ We've seen different cases of this administration bullying and intimidating elected leaders,” McIver said. “ They will not stop me from doing my job.”

Supporters of McIver, a former Newark city councilmember, gathered in the blistering heat outside the courthouse to denounce the indictment as politically motivated. Speakers included local immigrant rights groups and Baraka, who called the prosecution an attempt to intimidate elected officials conducting oversight.

The charges, filed by President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice, stem from a tense encounter on May 9, when McIver and two other congressmembers conducted an inspection of Delaney Hall, a 1,000-bed facility used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and run by a private prison contractor.

The mayor had sought to join the officials for the visit, but had already left the facility when agents came outside to arrest him, setting off a chaotic scene in which public officials and others surrounded Baraka as the agents tried to push their way through. The indictment alleges McIver slammed her arm into an agent and then tried to grab him.

The Department of Justice later dropped its trespassing charges against Baraka, a decision McIver’s allies say undermines the case.

The charges against both officials were brought by interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, a Trump appointee. McIver is charged with three counts of assaulting, resisting, impeding and interfering with federal officials. Two of the counts carry a maximum sentence of eight years in prison and third carries a one-year maximum.

The Associated Press reports that on Wednesday, McIver pleaded not guilty to all three counts and is scheduled to go to trial Nov. 10.

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla of California have also found themselves in handcuffs during immigration-related events. Lander was taken into custody by ICE agents while escorting a defendant out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza, but was released without charges. Federal agents handcuffed Padilla when he interrupted a press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem earlier this month.

Baraka, at the rally, said the White House is using the case against McIver as a political warning shot against adversaries. “These people are outright dangerous,” Baraka said.

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have also launched an investigation into the charges against both New Jersey Democrats.

“The decision to charge Congresswoman McIver appears to be part of a concerted strategy to deter congressional oversight and relentlessly pursue Donald Trump’s extreme immigration policy with complete disregard for the rule of law,” Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement announcing that investigation June 3.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.