Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., exits the grounds at Delancey Hall ICE detention prison on Friday, May 9, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (AP/Angelina Katsanis)
"They caused the confrontation. Homeland came and caused this chaos that we see. It was a very tense situation, but it could have been easily not, it could've easily not happened. They had every opportunity to not allow this to happen. It was very unnecessary. And it just, once again, we were there to do our jobs," she added. "And if I'm going to be charged with a crime for doing my job, it just speaks to where we're headed in this country and what we are dealing with as leaders and as congress members, you know, here in this country."
A charging document cites bodycam footage from law enforcement officers who recorded events as McIver and two other New Jersey lawmakers stormed the ICE facility. Prosecutors say the first officer McIver allegedly assaulted was a Homeland Security Investigations agent, and the second was an ICE agent.
The Justice Department accuses McIver of having "slammed her forearm into the body of a uniformed HSI agent and reached out and tried to restrain the agent by forcibly grabbing him."
The charging document also states that McIver "pushed an ICE officer & used her forearms to forcibly strike the agent."
DEMOCRAT LAWMAKER CHARGED WITH ASSAULTING FEDERAL AGENTS LAUGHS OFF FUNDRAISING QUESTIONS
Rep. LaMonica McIver demands the release of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka after his arrest while protesting outside an ICE facility on May 9, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (AP/Angelina Katsanis)
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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.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dem-rep-mciver-expected-make-first-court-appearance-after-newark-incident