US Democratic Congresswoman LaMonica McIver has been indicted for “forcibly impeding and interfering” with federal law enforcement over a recent confrontation outside an immigration centre.
A scuffle occurred during her visit to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) centre in Newark, New Jersey, on 9 May.
The incident drew widespread attention, as it unfolded at a time when the Republican administration of US President Donald Trump has faced sharp criticism from opposing Democrats over its hard-line approach to immigration.
Ms McIver, who faces a maximum term of 17 years in prison, has called the charges a “brazen attempt at political intimidation” and says she will plead not guilty.
A federal grand jury in New Jersey brought the three-count indictment against Ms McIver on Tuesday. It replaces the two assault charges that she previously faced.
Interim Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba – who was previously Trump’s personal lawyer – wrote on X: “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.”
During their oversight visit last month, Ms McIver was joined by other members of Congress, Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez, as well as Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.
They were visiting Delaney Hall: a 1,000-bed private facility that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has touted as the first reopened immigration centre under the new Trump administration.
Video footage showed jostling between police, ICE agents, journalists, protesters and the politicians.
Videos showed increasingly heated discussion and a chaotic scene including police, Ice agents, journalists, the politicians and protesters. The Congress members were eventually granted access and given a tour of the building.
Federal law prohibits immigration officials from blocking access to detention facilities for members of Congress seeking to conduct oversight.
According to the indictment, Ms McIver allegedly prevented a DHS agent from twice arresting Baraka. A trespass case against Baraka was later dropped.
The indictment also alleges that Ms McIver pushed past an ICE officer “while using her forearms to strike” him.
Ms McIver has labelled the legal proceedings “an effort by Trump’s administration to dodge accountability for the chaos ICE caused”.
“The facts will prove I was simply doing my job”, she added.
“We are eager to challenge these allegations head-on in court and fully expect the Congresswoman’s exoneration,” her lawyer Paul Fishman said in a statement.
Congresswoman Watson Coleman previously condemned the original complaint against Ms McIver as “an assault on civil liberties”, saying “these allegations are simply incorrect and inconsistent with the facts”.
Habba said “today’s decision by the grand jury is the next step in a process that my office will pursue to a just end”.
