Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba announced on Monday that Rep. LaMonic McIver is being charged for “assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement” after multiple Democrat lawmakers breached Delaney Hall, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in New Jersey.
According to Fox News, McIver, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), Rep. Robert Menendez Jr. (D-N.J.), and Democratic Newark Mayor Ras Baraka gathered outside the Delaney Hall ICE facility with protesters earlier this month. When the facility’s gates opened for an ICE bus, the four Democrat officials allegedly “stormed the gate and broke into the detention facility,” according to the Department of Homeland Security.
A video shared on social media shows McIver pushing past security officials during the Delaney Hall breach.
According to Fox News, Baraka was arrested and initially charged with misdemeanor trespassing following the ICE facilty breach. However, in a letter shared Monday on X, formerly Twitter, Habba announced that the misdemeanor trespassing charge against Baraka was being dismissed and that the mayor had been invited to tour the Delaney Hall ICE detention facility “in the spirit of public interest.”
“The government has nothing to hide at this facility, and I will personally accompany the mayor so he can see that firsthand,” Habba wrote.
Habba emphasized that the dismissal of the trespassing charge against the Newark mayor “is not the end of this matter.”
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“Representative LaMonica McIver assaulted, impeded, and interfered with law enforcement in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 111(a)(1),” Habba stated. “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.”
Habba said that while she attempted to address the recent ICE breach incident “without bringing criminal charges” and provided McIver “every opportunity to come to a resolution,” the Democrat lawmaker refused to accept a resolution.
“No one is above the law — politicians or otherwise. It is the job of this office to uphold justice impartially, regardless of who you are,” Habba added. “Now we will let the justice system work.”
Following Habba’s announcement of charges filed against McIver, the Democrat lawmaker released a statement, claiming that she and her fellow Democrat lawmakers were carrying out their “lawful oversight responsibilities” by visiting Delaney Hall to “inspect the treatment of ICE detainees.”
“Our visit should have been peaceful and short,” McIver 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,” McIver added.
