NJ Rep. McIver charged over ICE center incident, charges against Ras Baraka dropped

Yahoo

11 hours ago

Trespassing charges against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka have been dropped, and charges for "assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement" have been filed against New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver, said a post on social media from acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba.
Baraka, who is running for governor, was arrested on May 9 on charges he trespassed at Delaney Hall, a privately run federal immigration detention center in Newark. The mayor had accompanied members of Congress, including McIver, who were visiting the detention facility as part of congressional oversight.
"After extensive consideration, we have agreed to dismiss Mayor Baraka's misdemeanor charge of trespass for the sake of moving forward," Habba said in a statement.
Habba also said she had invited Baraka to tour Delaney Hall and will personally accompany him. "The government has nothing to hide at this facility," she said.
Baraka said in a statement he's "glad that the U.S. Attorney has agreed that this case should be dismissed."
"I have had strong relationships with prior U.S. Attorneys, and I plan to speak with the current U.S. Attorney about issues on which we can cooperate," he said. "As to Delaney Hall, I will continue to advocate for the humane treatment of detainees, and I will continue to press the facility to ensure that it is compliant with city of Newark codes and regulations."
When it comes to the charges against McIver, Baraka said she is a "daughter of Newark, past Newark council president, a former student of mine, and a dear friend" and that he stands with her and "fully expects her to be vindicated.'
May 19 was a deadline for Habba to hand over Brady disclosures in the Baraka case. Those disclosures are made by prosecutors and typically include information and evidence that may be beneficial to defendants.
That wasn't the end of Habba's announcements, though. In the same social media post, she said she has brought charges against McIver, who was with Baraka and Democratic Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez at Delaney Hall.
"McIver assaulted, impeded, and interfered with law enforcement in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 111(a)(1)," Habba said. "That conduct cannot be overlooked."
Habba said she has made efforts to address this matter with McIver and "come to a resolution, but she has unfortunately declined."
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The freshman congresswoman said in a statement on May 19 that earlier in May she joined her colleagues to "inspect the treatment of ICE detainees at Delaney Hall in my district."
"We were fulfilling our lawful oversight responsibilities, as members of Congress have done many times before, and our visit should have been peaceful and short," she said. "Instead, ICE agents created an unnecessary and unsafe confrontation when they chose to arrest Mayor Baraka. The charges against me are purely political — they mischaracterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight."
She said the Trump administration "will never stop me from working for the people in our district and standing up for what is right," thanked those who have shown support, and said she looks forward to the "truth being laid out clearly in court.'
McIver's fellow Democrats within the state's congressional delegation were quick to speak out against Habba's actions.
Rep. Frank Pallone, the senior Democrat representing New Jersey in the House of Representatives, called this a "purely political act to stop a member of Congress from doing her job."
"Oversight is not a criminal offense unless you are living under a fascist regime," he said. "Like all members of Congress, Representatives Menendez, Watson Coleman and McIver have authority under the law to conduct oversight visits at federal ICE detention facilities. Instead, they were met by heavily armed agents with covered faces and no identification. Democratic lawmakers were delayed and harassed for doing their job, and now the Trump administration is abusing their power to sideline their political opponents."
Pallone said he stands with McIver and that "we must not stay silent while Trump and his lawless administration tears the Constitution to shreds.'
Meanwhile, the newest woman to join the delegation, Rep. Nellie Pou, said she was "disgusted and outraged that the Justice Department, through Donald Trump's personal lawyer and handpicked U.S. attorney, is attempting to prosecute a sitting member of Congress on blatantly trumped-up, phony charges.'
Pou said: "McIver did nothing wrong except exercise her duty as a sitting member of Congress to call out excesses by the government."
"For a Justice Department so concerned about purported trespassing, I would remind everyone of the over 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters who were given unconditional pardons after storming the Capitol to overturn the 2020 election," Pou said. "This prosecution is nothing but cold vengeance and an abuse of power by a heavily politicized Justice Department and an unqualified temporary prosecutor whose only qualification to be United States attorney is praising her boss in front of TV cameras. As a democracy, all Americans must be allowed to protest government corruption without fear of persecution or prosecution.'
Gov. Phil Murphy also posted on social media saying "members of Congress have an explicit right under the law to inspect ICE and CBP [Customs and Border Protection] facilities for the purpose of conducting oversight," going on to call the charges "outrageous."
It hasn't been just New Jersey officials showing support. Congress members from Texas, Washington, California and Florida have also issued statements calling the charges a "political stunt" and a "blatant attempt to intimidate Congress."
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: McIver charged, Ras Baraka charges dropped in Newark ICE incident