By Christian Martinez
(Reuters) -Democratic U.S. Representative LaMonica McIver was indicted by a grand jury on three counts for “forcibly impeding and interfering” with federal law enforcement, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey said on Tuesday.
McIver, a Democrat from Newark, New Jersey, was charged last month with assault and impeding law enforcement over a scuffle at the gate of a privately run immigration detention center on May 9 that was caught on video.
The encounter drew widespread attention at a time of growing clashes between the Trump administration and Democrats over Trump’s hardline approach to immigration.
“While people are free to express their views for or against particular policies, they must not do so in a manner that endangers law enforcement and the communities those officers serve,” Alina Habba said on social media platform X.
In a statement posted on X on Tuesday, McIver said the “indictment is no more justified than the original charges.”
“The facts of this case will prove I was simply doing my job and will expose these proceedings for what they are: a brazen attempt at political intimidation.”
“We are eager to challenge these allegations head-on in court and fully expect the Congresswoman’s exoneration,” McIver’s counsel Paul J. Fishman said in a statement.
According to the indictment, McIver and two other lawmakers were conducting a congressional oversight visit at the detention facility, known as Delaney Hall, while an immigration protest was taking place outside.
When the lawmakers and Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark walked through the security gate and entered a secured part of the facility, a Homeland Security special agent told Baraka he was not authorized to enter the area, the indictment said.
McIver allegedly prevented the agent from placing Baraka under arrest, shouting “Hell No!” and surrounding him along with the other two lawmakers, according to the indictment.
McIver “slammed her forearm into the body” of the officer during a second attempt to arrest Baraka and also “reached out and tried to restrain him,” the document stated.
The indictment also alleged that McIver pushed past an Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation officer “while using her forearms to strike” him following the successful arrest of Baraka.
Baraka, a Democrat running for New Jersey governor, was charged with trespassing, but prosecutors dropped the case 10 days after his arrest.
Last week, Baraka sued Habba and Ricky Patel, a Department of Homeland Security official in Newark, who allegedly ordered the arrest, alleging in the lawsuit that he was wrongly arrested for trespassing without cause and maliciously prosecuted.
(Reporting by Christian Martinez and Ryan Patrick Jones; Editing by Chris Reese and Saad Sayeed)
