DOJ charges N.J. congresswoman with assaulting law enforcement at ICE facility

The interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey said Rep. LaMonica McIver is accused of “assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement.”

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has filed charges against a Democratic member of Congress, alleging that she assaulted law enforcement officers during a protest outside an immigration detention facility in New Jersey earlier this month.

Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., faces two counts of assaulting, resisting, and impeding law enforcement officials in connection with an incident at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Newark, according to court documents made public on Tuesday.

Interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba, who served as Trump's personal attorney and previously worked as counselor to the president, announced the charges against McIver on X on Monday night, before they were made public.

On Tuesday, McIver told NBC News that she had learned of the charges on social media after Habba posted about them.

"It’s political intimidation, and I’m looking forward to my day in court,” she said Tuesday. McIver had called the charges “purely political” in a statement on Monday night and said she looked forward “to the truth being laid out clearly in court.”