Interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced on Tuesday that a Newark grand jury had “returned a three-count indictment charging U.S. Representative LaMonica McIver with forcibly impeding and interfering with federal law enforcement officers.”
“This indictment has a maximum penalty of 8 years for Count One, an additional maximum penalty of 8 years for Count Two, and a maximum penalty of 1 year in prison for Count Three,” Habba explained on X.
Here’s the government’s narrative of the events at Delaney Hall:
According to the allegations in the indictment, McIver forcibly impeded and interfered with federal officers as they attempted to arrest an individual outside the Delaney Hall Federal Immigration Facility in Newark, New Jersey on May 9, 2025. McIver and two other members of Congress were present at the facility that day to conduct a congressional oversight inspection. The inspection coincided with an immigration protest rally. After the Congressional Delegation entered the secured area of the facility, the Mayor of Newark arrived and was given access to the secured area. A federal officer then informed the Mayor that he was not authorized to be in the facility’s secured area, and issued the Mayor multiple warnings that he would be arrested if he did not leave. McIver and other members of the Congressional Delegation overheard this conversation and challenged the officer, protesting the Mayor’s removal. When officers moved in to arrest the Mayor, McIver and others surrounded the Mayor and prevented the officers from handcuffing him.
After the Mayor was escorted outside the secured area, law enforcement officers made a second attempt to arrest him. At this time, someone in the crowd yelled “circle the mayor.” McIver then faced the Mayor and placed her arms around him in an effort to prevent HSI from completing the arrest. During her continued attempts to thwart the arrest, McIver slammed her forearm into the body of one law enforcement officer and also reached out and tried to restrain that officer by forcibly grabbing him. McIver also used each of her forearms to forcibly strike a second officer.
“As I have stated in the past, it is my Constitutional obligation as the Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officer for New Jersey to ensure that our federal partners are protected when executing their duties,” the former White House counsel explained. “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.”
McIver, in her first term representing the 10th Congressional District, issued her own statement in the wake of the indictment, declaring “this indictment is no more justified than the original charges” and promising she would “not be intimidated.”
Charges against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka stemming from the same incident were subsequently dropped by Habba’s office.
