After Rep. LaMonica McIver Is Indicted For Incident At ICE Detention Center, Democrats Say Trump Administration Is Trying To Intimidate Opponents

Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-New Jersey) was indicted on charges following an incident at an ICE Detention Facility last month. The charges are the most recent escalation in the Trump administration’s fight against illegal immigration.

The choice to indict McIver comes at a critical juncture for this administration. It comes just a few days after President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard and the Marines into Los Angeles, along with the ongoing legal battles surrounding the administration’s deportation efforts. Proceeding with this legal battle is confusing people.

Legal experts believe the case will either be thrown out quickly or ruled in McIvers’ favor.

Typically, the Justice Department achieves convictions in approximately 90% of cases. In this case, the circumstances and charges are atypical and are highly politically charged.

The administration is pursuing a conviction over a small conflict at a government facility after pardoning hundreds of people charged with assaulting or resisting officers during the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

McIver has been charged with two felony counts of physically assaulting, resisting or impeding two Homeland Security agents during an altercation involving two other House members while attempting to inspect an ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey. There is also a third charge for her conduct in the form of a single misdemeanor.

The incident started when Newark Mayor Ras Baraka tried to enter the detention facility without notice. ICE agents arrested Baraka for trespassing. The indictment alleges that McIver “slammed her forearm into the body” of one agent and “reached out and tried to restrain [him] by forcibly grabbing him.”

It is also alleged that following Baraka’s arrest, McIver “pushed past” the other officer and used “each of her forearms to forcibly strike [him] as she returned inside the secured area of the facility.”

The felony charges carry a maximum penalty of eight years in prison, while the misdemeanor charges carry a maximum sentence of one year.

While members of Congress have on occasion been charged with white-collar crimes, charges for protesting rarely end in jail time.

The DOJ’s first claim is that McIver interfered with Baraka’s arrest, but prosecutors quickly dropped the charges against him. The federal magistrate in charge of his case said it was a “hasty arrest” and a “worrisome misstep.”

It is unusual for prosecution to continue against secondary figures on the scene if the primary charge was dropped, especially a high-profile figure such as McIver.

If the case reaches a trial, McIver has a few possible defenses, including the Constitution’s Speech and Debate clause or utilizing the scope of protections afforded to oversight activities, which would apply to the congresswoman.

Democrats have spoken out loudly that they believe the Administration is trying to intimidate lawmakers who oppose their immigration policies.