DOJ charges congresswoman with assault in incident at ICE facility, drops case against Newark mayor
By Hannah Rabinowitz and Holmes Lybrand, CNN
(CNN) — Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver is facing federal charges for allegedly assaulting law enforcement from the Department of Homeland Security during a chaotic melee that erupted outside of an ICE detention facility in her home state of New Jersey, acting US Attorney Alina Habba said Monday.
Prosecutors will, however, drop the federal trespassing charge against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was arrested during the confrontation, Habba said in a news release.
The scuffle outside the detention facility as protesters, lawmakers and Homeland Security officers pushed against each other, thrust the political battle between the administration and Democratic lawmakers over President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policy agenda into a new stage – charging a federal lawmaker with criminal wrongdoing.
“No one is above the law — politicians or otherwise,” Habba said. “It is the job of this office to uphold justice impartially, regardless of who you are.”
McIver said in a statement that the charges against her “are purely political-they mischaracterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight.”
The DOJ and McIver had attempted to negotiate a plea deal that would have averted charges, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. Habba said in her statement Monday that McIver “declined” the department’s attempts to “come to a resolution.”
It is unclear whether the Justice Department will charge the two other members of Congress who were with McIver at the detention facility, Democratic Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Robert Menendez Jr.
The incident, which took place on May 9, began as the three members of Congress, including McIver, visited the ICE detention facility in Newark, which they claimed was not up to date on necessary permits.
Once the visit at the facility concluded, Baraka tried to join lawmakers and went inside the gate to the facility. Baraka complied with federal agents who told him to leave but was arrested as soon as he left the facility’s fenced-in area.
Habba said Monday that she is dropping the charges against Baraka “for the sake of moving forward,” and said she invited the mayor to visit the detention center with her.
CNN has reached out to Baraka’s office for comment.
Video taken during the scrum appears to show McIver using her body to push past federal agents and get to Baraka as he was being taken away in handcuffs. It also shows McIver using her arms to push agents.
DHS officials including Secretary Kristi Noem have alleged McIver assaulted an ICE agent, with the secretary saying on Capitol Hill Wednesday that the lawmakers’ behavior was “lawlessness” and “beneath this body.”
McIver has previously rejected allegations that she assaulted the federal officers, telling CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” Sunday that “I honestly do not know how to body slam anyone, and there’s no video that supports me body slamming anyone.”
This story has been updated with additional details.
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