(Reuters) -Democratic U.S. Representative LaMonica McIver pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges she assaulted and impeded federal agents outside an immigration detention center in New Jersey, the lawmaker said in a social media post.
McIver, who represents a district in northern New Jersey, was indicted on three federal counts after prosecutors said she struck two Department of Homeland Security agents with her forearms during a scuffle on May 9.
McIver was conducting an oversight visit along with two other Democratic members of Congress at a privately run detention center in Newark, New Jersey. She resisted agents who tried to arrest the city’s mayor, Ras Baraka, for trespassing at the facility, according to a criminal complaint.
The charge against Baraka was later dropped.
McIver has denied the allegations and accused President Donald Trump’s administration of political intimidation.
“To all who stand up to this administration—do not back down,” McIver wrote following her court appearance. “The facts are on our side.”
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
