Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba on Monday filed felony charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) for allegedly assaulting and impeding federal officers during a May 13 confrontation outside the Delaney Hall Immigration Detention Center, as per Fox News.
At the same time, prosecutors dropped a separate trespassing charge against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka stemming from the same incident.
In a letter posted to social media, Habba said McIver violated Title 18 U.S. Code § 111(a)(1) by “assaulting, impeding and interfering with law-enforcement personnel.” The congresswoman must surrender to authorities on a date to be set by a federal magistrate. Prosecutors told Fox News that McIver faces multiple felony counts and “potential prison time.”
“That conduct cannot be overlooked by the chief federal law-enforcement official in the State of New Jersey,” Habba wrote.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem backed the decision, stating, “No one is above the law… If any person assaults a law-enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent.”
McIver, who represents Newark and surrounding communities, called the charges “purely political.”
“We were fulfilling our lawful oversight responsibilities… The charges mischaracterize my actions and aim to deter legislative oversight,” she said in a statement, vowing to fight the case in court.
The dispute unfolded when McIver, Baraka, and Democratic Reps. Robert Menendez Jr. and Bonnie Watson Coleman attempted to inspect conditions for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees at Delaney Hall, a privately operated facility run by the GEO Group. According to Department of Homeland Security officials, the lawmakers and the mayor rushed through a security gate as an ICE transport bus entered, prompting officers to intervene. Body-camera footage released by DHS shows pushing and shouting at the entrance.
ICE later arrested Baraka on a Class C misdemeanor trespassing count. He pleaded not guilty during a May 15 appearance attended by Habba.
Habba said Monday she was dismissing the mayor’s case “after extensive consideration.” Baraka welcomed the decision but pledged to keep pressing the facility over “humane treatment of detainees” and city code compliance.
“I stand with LaMonica, and I fully expect her to be vindicated,” Baraka added.
Delaney Hall reopened this year as an immigration detention center, drawing daily protests from activists who claim the site lacks a valid certificate of occupancy—an assertion the GEO Group disputes. Following last week’s confrontation, the facility erected large yellow barricades and posted no-trespassing signs.
