House Democrat Pleads Not Guilty to Assault at Migrant Detention Center

New York Times

6 hours ago

Representative LaMonica McIver, a New Jersey Democrat accused of assaulting federal agents at a troubled migrant detention center in Newark, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday during a brief court appearance.
The Justice Department charged Ms. McIver after a clash between lawmakers and immigration officers during the arrest of the city's mayor outside the privately run detention center, which has become a flashpoint in President Trump's deportation crackdown.
Ms. McIver is one of a handful of politicians across the United States who have publicly opposed Mr. Trump's immigration policies to be charged in clashes with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in recent weeks.
She and two House colleagues were at the Newark facility, Delaney Hall, on May 9 for a congressional oversight visit. The city's mayor, Ras J. Baraka, had argued that the 1,000-bed jailhouse had opened prematurely, without the required permits. (Mr. Baraka's concerns took on new urgency several weeks later after four detainees used bedsheets to escape through a hole in the wall after tension over food rations and crowding boiled over.)
During Ms. McIver's visit, masked agents, dressed in camouflage, came out from behind the facility's gated perimeter to surround Mr. Baraka in an area swarming with protesters, according to video taken by immigrant rights activists, congressional aides and news reporters.
That unleashed a chaotic onrush, during which Ms. McIver could be seen pushing toward Mr. Baraka, who was charged with trespassing, and being pushed from behind. After the clash, Ms. McIver, 39, was permitted back onto the private property and then given a tour of Delaney Hall.
Less than two weeks later, Alina Habba, the interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, announced in a news release that she was dropping the case against Mr. Baraka — but was charging Ms. McIver.
Prosecutors have said that Ms. McIver acted as a ringleader and assaulted two federal agents as she tried to block Mr. Baraka's arrest. A criminal complaint accuses her of slamming her forearm into an agent and 'forcibly grabbing him.'
On Wednesday, Judge Jamel K. Semper of U.S. District Court set a trial date for Nov. 10. If found guilty, Ms. McIver faces years in prison.
'Congresswoman McIver pleaded not guilty because she is not guilty,' Paul J. Fishman, her lawyer, said in a statement. 'ICE responded by creating a risky and dangerous situation, and now the Justice Department is doubling down by trying to punish the congresswoman for doing her job.'
This is a developing story and will be updated.