New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor said Monday that she’s charging Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver with assault after a skirmish with federal officers who arrested the Newark mayor outside an immigration detention center.
Interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced the charge on social media, but court papers providing details were not immediately released or publicly available online. Habba said McIver is charged with assaulting, impeding or interfering with law enforcement.
McIver’s attorney, Paul Fishman, the former U.S. attorney for New Jersey, issued a statement calling the decision to charge McIver “spectacularly inappropriate,” saying she went to Delaney Hall “to do her job” and she has the responsibility as a member of Congress to oversee ICE’s treatment of detainees.
“Rather than facilitating that inspection, ICE agents chose to escalate what should have been a peaceful situation into chaos,” Fishman said. “This prosecution is an attempt to shift the blame for ICE’s behavior to Congresswoman McIver. In the courtroom, facts — not headlines — will matter.”
Habba at the same time announced that her office was dismissing a misdemeanor case brought against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was arrested after he attempted to join three members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation who were inspecting the facility in their oversight capacity.
