US attorney announces criminal charge against congresswoman over detention center scuffle

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The interim US attorney for the District of New Jersey announced Monday that she is charging Rep. LaMonica McIver with assault after a scuffle earlier this month outside an immigration detention center.

"Today my office has charged Congresswoman McIver with violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 111(a)(1) for assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement," Alina Habba said in a statement.

The tension over Delaney Hall, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in New Jersey’s largest city, Newark, erupted on May 9 when Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested and charged with "trespassing and ignoring multiple warnings."

McIver was among several Democratic lawmakers who tried to visit the detention center and was caught up in a scrum with masked federal agents and protesters outside the center.

Habba said that McIver "assaulted, impeded and interfered with law enforcement."

"That conduct cannot be overlooked," she added.

Habba noted that the trespass charges against Baraka would be dismissed.

"After extensive consideration, we have agreed to dismiss Mayor Baraka's misdemeanor charge of trespass for the sake of moving forward," she added.

McIver dismissed the charges and said she was performing her “lawful oversight responsibilities.”

"The charges against me are purely political — they mischaracterize and distort my actions and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight," she said in a statement.