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Source: NBC NEWS
U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver is accused of assaulting, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement.
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver, a democrat from New Jersey. They allege she assaulted law enforcement this month at an immigration and customs enforcement facility in Newark.
Here is what McIver had to say:
“Earlier this month, I joined my colleagues to inspect the treatment of ICE detainees at Delaney Hall in my district. We were fulfilling our lawful oversight responsibilities, as members of Congress have done many times before, and our visit should have been peaceful and short. Instead, ICE agents created an unnecessary and unsafe confrontation when they chose to arrest Mayor Baraka,” she said.
The Mayor of Newark - Ras Baraka, was arrested on May 9th along with 2 other house democrats.
"After extensive consideration, we have agreed to dismiss Mayor Baraka's misdemeanor charge of trespass for the sake of moving forward," Habba said in a statement, while adding that the dismissal of the charges against Baraka, a candidate for New Jersey governor, is not the end of the matter.
The Trump administration officials claim that members of Congress were storming into the facility.
“Members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said on May 9.
“She went to Delaney Hall to do her job. As a member of Congress, she has the right and responsibility to see how ICE is treating detainees. Rather than facilitating that inspection, ICE agents chose to escalate what should have been a peaceful situation into chaos. This prosecution is an attempt to shift the blame for ICE’s behavior to Congresswoman McIver,” Fishman said.
The House Democrats responded with their own statement:
“By visiting the detention center in Newark, Rep. McIver and two other Members of Congress were upholding their oath of office. They didn’t assault anyone, but were themselves aggressively mistreated by illegally masked individuals,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Reps. Katherine Clark, Pete Aguilar, Ted Lieu and Joe Negeuse.
“The proceeding initiated by the so-called U.S. Attorney in New Jersey is a blatant attempt by the Trump administration to intimidate Congress and interfere with our ability to serve as a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch," adding that House Democrats will “respond vigorously in the days to come at a time, place and manner of our choosing.”
We could not confirm the video, but apparently it shows Baraka pushing federal agents as she walked towards the facility.
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