New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver made her first court appearance Wednesday related to charges over her scuffle with federal agents at the Delaney Hall Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention Center in Newark.
The Democratic congresswoman is accused of assaulting agents as she tried to prevent Newark Mayor Ras Baraka from being arrested. She appeared remotely from Washington, D.C., during the 15-minute hearing in front of Stacey Adams, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of New Jersey.
The Associated Press reported that Adams released McIver on her recognizance. The judge stressed that the preliminary hearing, which would occur in person, was scheduled for June 11.
McIver denied the charges and said she was carrying out her duty as a Congress member overseeing a federal facility. McIver, her attorneys, and federal prosecutors appeared in the Newark courtroom via video call.
McIver was with protestors, activists, and two other Democratic members of Congress when they stormed through the security gate on May 9, demanding to tour the detention facility.
McIver was charged with assaulting two federal agents during the skirmish. She calls the charges “absurd,” “ridiculous” and “purely political,” Fox News reported.
The trio of U.S. House Democrats from New Jersey included McIver, Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez. They showed up at the facility and wanted to inspect it as part of their Congressional oversight duties, eventually pushing through an open security gate and scuffling with federal agents.
“I was there to do my job along with my other colleagues. We have done this before. This is our obligation to do. It’s in our job description to have oversight over a facility. And the entire situation was escalated by ICE,” McIver said during an appearance on CNN Tuesday.
After reviewing video footage and a full investigation from Homeland Security Investigations, the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Alina Habba, decided to charge McIver for assaulting, resisting and impeding law enforcement officers, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted on X.
“No one is above the law,” Noem wrote. “If any person, regardless of political party, influence or status, assaults a law enforcement officer as we witnessed Congresswoman McIver do, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We thank our brave ICE law enforcement officers for their service to this great nation.”
After a thorough review of the video footage of Delaney Hall and a full investigation from HSI, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey has made the determination to charge Congresswoman LaMonica McIver for assaulting, resisting, and impeding law enforcement officers.…
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) May 20, 2025
The skirmish also led to the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for trespassing. Baraka recently filed a lawsuit against the company operating the detention center, claiming the facility lacks the proper city permits in order to open.
Witnesses told The Associated Press that Baraka’s arrest happened after Baraka attempted to join the lawmakers when entering the facility. Federal officials denied Baraka access, and an argument then broke out, the AP reported.
Habba had charged Baraka with trespassing after his arrest but dismissed the allegation on Monday, when she said in a post on X that she was instead charging the congresswoman. Baraka is a Democratic candidate for governor in next month’s primary election.
A charging document for McIver cites bodycam footage from law enforcement officers who recorded events as McIver and her colleagues entered the ICE facility. Prosecutors say the first officer McIver allegedly assaulted was a Homeland Security Investigations agent, and the second was an ICE agent, Fox News reports.
Prosecutors said McIver helped create a “human shield” and blocked agents from handcuffing Baraka after he ignored numerous warnings to leave the property and was told he would be arrested.
A nearly two-minute clip released by the Homeland Security Department shows McIver in a tightly packed group of people and officers. She and uniformed officials go through the gate, and she joins others shouting that they should circle the mayor.
At one point, McIver’s left elbow and then her right elbow push into an officer wearing a dark face covering and an olive green uniform emblazoned with the word “Police” on it, according to Associated Press reported.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman told reporters Tuesday that her and Menendez’s attorneys are scheduled to meet Wednesday with Habba’s office. Watson Coleman said that Habba’s office has indicated that charges are still on the table.
“That’s the first contact that we’ve actually had from her, so we don’t know what she has intended, but we’re ready for whenever it might be,” she said.
Prosecuting McIver is a rare federal criminal case against a sitting member of Congress for allegations other than fraud or corruption, the AP reports.
