logo
Rep. LaMonica McIver charged by DOJ over incident with ICE agents

Rep. LaMonica McIver charged by DOJ over incident with ICE agents

Yahoo20-05-2025

U.S. Representative LaMonica McIver was charged on Monday for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers outside of an ICE detention facility earlier this month.
Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced that she was charging the congresswoman with assaulting and impeding a law enforcement officer.
On May 9, McIver, along with a few other members of Congress and Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, were protesting outside of Delaney Hall, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility.
MORE: Newark Mayor Ras Baraka arrested at ICE facility while joining Democrats to conduct 'oversight'
Tensions at the protest escalated and pushing and shoving allegedly occurred, according to the U.S. Attorney.
"Representative LaMonica McIver assaulted, impeded, and interfered with law enforcement in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 111(a)(1)," Habba said in a statement. "That conduct cannot be overlooked by the chief federal law enforcement official in the State of New Jersey, and it is my Constitutional obligation to ensure that our federal law enforcement is protected when executing their duties ave persistently made efforts to address these issues without bringing criminal charges and Representative Melver every opportunity to come to a resolution, but she has unfortunately declined."
"No one is above the law -- politicians or otherwise. It is the job of this office to uphold Justice, regardless of who you are. Now we will let the justice system work," Habba added.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem echoed Habba's decision in a post on social media.
"If any person, regardless of political party, influence or status, assaults a law enforcement officer as we witnessed Congresswoman McIver do, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Noem wrote on X. "We thank our brave ICE law enforcement officers for their service to this great nation."
MORE: What we know about the foreign college students targeted for deportation
Following the charges, Rep. McIver alleged in a statement that the decision was politically motivated.
"The charges against me are purely political-they mischaracterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight," McIver said. "This administration will never stop me from working for the people in our district and standing up for what is right. I am thankful for the outpouring of support I have received and I look forward to the truth being laid out clearly in court," she added.
The charges against Newark's Mayor Baraka were dropped by the U.S. Attorney.
Rep. LaMonica McIver charged by DOJ over incident with ICE agents originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Nearly two dozen arrested outside Manhattan ICE facility after protests erupt into chaos
Nearly two dozen arrested outside Manhattan ICE facility after protests erupt into chaos

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Nearly two dozen arrested outside Manhattan ICE facility after protests erupt into chaos

Nearly two dozen people were busted as protests erupted Wednesday night after ICE arrested multiple migrants at a Lower Manhattan courthouse hours earlier, cops said. Twenty-three people were taken into custody as activists rallied outside the U.S. Immigration Court on Varick Street near West Houston Street, according to police. Eighteen were released with summonses, and the status of the five others was not immediately known. The arrested demonstrators were attempting to block the path of the two vans that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were using to transport the detained migrants, Hell Gate reported. The crowd also clashed with authorities over the barricades set up to keep them back, according to CBS New York. The protesters were outraged after two dozen masked, plainclothes officers gathered Wednesday afternoon in the lobby of 26 Federal Plaza, where they corralled at least six migrants as well as a Queens pastor who tried to intervene, according to a report in The City. The six men and one woman were spotted as agents carted them — some in handcuffs — back into an elevator they had just come out of, the outlet reported. ICE spokesperson Marie Ferguson told The City that the operation was in line with the Trump administration's push for 'expedited removal' of those who had illegally entered the country over the last two years under the Biden administration. 'ICE is now following the law and placing these illegal aliens in expedited removal, as they always should have been,' Ferguson said. 'If they have a valid credible fear claim, they will continue in immigration proceedings, but if no valid claim is found, aliens will be subject to a swift deportation.' But a member of the crowd gathered on Varick Street told CBS he was astonished by the scene. 'I've never seen anything like this,' said the man, who only provided his first name, Ben. 'I've been working here for a couple years and I've never seen this many agents, let alone agents dressed in plain clothes, wearing masks, pulling people out of line. It's totally out of the ordinary.' Meanwhile on Thursday, at the City Council's Fiscal Year 2026 executive budget hearing, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the NYPD prohibited by city law 'to participate or assist in civil immigration enforcement, and we do not.' 'We have been very clear and consistent on this, and our officers understand that this is a red line we cannot cross,' the top cop said. 'At the same time, we will continue to target criminals, regardless of their immigration status.' 'Some have asked whether we should reconsider our cooperation with federal agencies on criminal investigations in light of their work with ICE,' Tisch added. 'The short, straight answer to this is no. Working with our federal partners on criminal matters is crucial to the safety of our city.'

Why Waymos Have Been Vandalized by Protesters
Why Waymos Have Been Vandalized by Protesters

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Why Waymos Have Been Vandalized by Protesters

Smoke billows as a Waymo car burns in the street during protests in Los Angeles on June 8, 2025. Credit - David Pashaee—Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images As protesters and police clash across Los Angeles and beyond, a striking image from the mayhem has been that of graffiti-strewn white cars engulfed in flames. But these aren't ordinary cars. They've got sensors protruding from the top and sides—and, critically, they've got no drivers. Waymo, a robotaxi company, found itself at the center of the demonstrations against the Trump Administration's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids after a group of protesters over the weekend, according to the Los Angeles Times, approached a parked row of the autonomous vehicles and smashed their windows, slashed their tires, spray-painted them with anti-ICE slogans, and set them on fire. While eye-catching, the trend is also extremely dangerous. Electric vehicles, like those in Waymo's fleet, have lithium-ion batteries, and in a post on X, the L.A. Police Department warned: 'Burning lithium-ion batteries release toxic gases, including hydrogen fluoride, posing risks to responders and those nearby.' According to Scientific American, first responders exposed to the fumes of burnt lithium-ion batteries without protection historically 'have developed throat burns and breathing difficulties upon arriving,' and, depending on the hydrogen fluoride levels, individuals can start coughing up blood within minutes of exposure. At least six Waymo vehicles across the county have reportedly been the target of vandalism, resulting in the company temporarily suspending operations in the area 'out of an abundance of caution.' California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have condemned the violence and destruction, which Newsom attributed to 'insurgent groups' and 'anarchists' who have infiltrated otherwise peaceful protests. President Donald Trump, who mobilized the National Guard to respond to the situation, has called the demonstrators 'troublemakers' and 'paid insurrectionists.' Here's what to know. Waymo is a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google's parent company, and grew out of the Google Self-Driving Car project that began in 2009. It launched its robotaxi business in 2020 in limited markets, which grew to include Los Angeles in 2024. While the company says its mission 'is to be the world's most trusted driver,' a national survey earlier this year found that '6 in 10 U.S. drivers still report being afraid to ride in a self-driving vehicle' while the proportion of people enthusiastic about the development of the technology has actually decreased from 18% in 2022 to 13% in 2025. Waymo vehicles were involved in 696 accidents across the U.S. between 2021 and 2024, or about one accident every other day. MKP Law Group, a Los-Angeles based firm that represents clients involved in accidents, acknowledged in a blog post that this statistic 'is not necessarily indicative of Waymo causing those accidents, as some may have been the fault of the other involved drivers.' Studies show that self-driving technology is likely safer than most human drivers. Waymo has also reportedly annoyed some people, including those who find self-driving vehicles to be an eyesore as well as locals where the vehicles routinely get stuck. Neighbors near a Waymo charging station in Santa Monica have complained about noise pollution caused by the driverless vehicles honking at each other in the parking lot. Waymo vehicles as well as other self-driving cars have previously been the target of vandals, particularly in California, where Waymo is headquartered. In January, a Waymo car was torn apart in Los Angeles. In February 2024, another Waymo car was smashed and set ablaze in San Francisco. And in July 2024, a man was charged with slashing the tires of 17 Waymo cars in San Francisco. Several potential explanations have emerged for why Waymo vehicles were targeted during the protests in Los Angeles. The Wall Street Journal reported that part of the reason the cars were vandalized was to obstruct traffic—a traditional, albeit controversial, protest tactic. Some social media users have suggested that self-driving vehicles in particular have become a new target because they are seen by protesters as 'part of the police surveillance state.' Waymo's cars are equipped with cameras that provide a 360-degree view of their surroundings, a tool that has been tapped by law enforcement, according to reports. Independent tech news site 404 Media reported in April that the Los Angeles Police Department obtained footage from a Waymo driverless car to use as part of an investigation into an unrelated hit-and-run. And Bloomberg reported in 2023 that police have increasingly relied on self-driving cars and their cameras for video evidence. Chris Gilliard, a fellow at the Social Science Research Council, told Bloomberg that self-driving vehicles are 'essentially surveillance cameras on wheels,' adding: 'We're supposed to be able to go about our business in our day-to-day lives without being surveilled unless we are suspected of a crime, and each little bit of this technology strips away that ability.' Waymo told Bloomberg at the time that it 'carefully' reviews every request from police 'to make sure it satisfies applicable laws and has a valid legal process.' Some activists have also suggested that the burning of Waymo vehicles should garner less sympathy from onlookers. 'There are people on here saying it's violent and domestic terrorism to set a Waymo car on fire,' racial justice organizer Samuel Sinyangwe posted on X. 'A robot car? Are you going to demand justice for the robot dogs next? But not the human beings repeatedly shot with rubber bullets in the street? What kind of politics is this?' 'There is no human element to Waymo,' climate and labor organizer Elise Joshi similarly posted on X. 'It's expensive and bought-out politicians are using it as an excuse to defund public transit. I pray on Waymo's downfall.' Contact us at letters@

Immigrant advocates decry ICE arrest outside Houston immigration court
Immigrant advocates decry ICE arrest outside Houston immigration court

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Immigrant advocates decry ICE arrest outside Houston immigration court

HOUSTON - Immigration attorneys and advocates are raising concerns after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained an individual outside a Houston immigration court, including at least one person whose case had just been dismissed. What we know Cesar Espinosa, Executive Director of the advocacy group, FIEL, said ICE agents were present inside the court building on South Gessner Road on the day of the arrests. "We have gone inside, and I can confirm ICE agents are inside waiting for people right outside of the master hearing, and near the elevators," Espinosa said. Immigration attorney Bianca Santorini said she witnessed federal agents detaining immigrants who were waiting for or exiting their court appearances. "What is very bothersome is that due process is guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution," Santorini said. "Due process does not mean you come here illegally and get to stay," she said. "But it does mean you get that one day in court. That is what we're asking to be respected by this administration." According to Santorini, one man detained outside the courtroom is from Ecuador and arrived in the United States in 2023. After being processed at the border, he was issued a notice to appear, though that notice was never initially sent to a judge. He later filed an asylum application with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. His case was eventually scheduled in court (Jun 9), where the government moved to dismiss, stating they no longer intended to prosecute. As he exited the courtroom, Santorini said, ICE agents detained him near the elevators. Advocates say this type of enforcement will discourage individuals from attending immigration hearings, potentially leading to more deportations by default. FIEL is calling for ICE to halt such detentions, especially for individuals whose cases have been closed or dismissed. Espinosa called the practice "unjust" and "inhumane." "This is anti-democratic for the court system to say, 'Now you don't have any case,' and for ICE to be sitting right outside waiting for these folks," he said. "We've seen it happen in other places — but we've witnessed it today." Santorini also raised concerns about the apparent coordination between ICE agents and individuals with knowledge of case outcomes. "They're being fed the information — 'Hey, this person in the blue shirt with yellow stripes, case dismissed, here less than two years' — they know exactly who to approach," she said. According to Santorini, ICE agents were in plain clothes. The family of the man detained said that he was transported to a facility in Conroe. Espinosa questioned the use of public resources, saying, "For four agents to be sitting there the entire day, how much is that costing?" Attorneys from multiple organizations remained in court throughout the day, assisting immigrants with translation and legal navigation. In a statement, ICE responded: "Federal, state, and local law enforcement officials throughout the country routinely engage in enforcement activity at or near courthouses for both criminal and civil matters. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's activities at or near courthouses is wholly consistent with this longstanding law enforcement practice. ICE officers and agents seek to conduct enforcement actions at an alternate location when practicable. However, when no other location is feasible or when the alternate location increases the risk to public safety or the safety of our officers, ICE will seek to effectuate the arrest in the location that is least likely to endanger anyone's safety." The Source FOX 26 interviewed advocates and attorneys outside of the courtroom on South Gessner Monday, and received a statement from ICE.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store