Feds charge New Jersey congressmember with assault

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Feds charge New Jersey congressmember with assault

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The Justice Department announced an assault charge Monday against Rep. LaMonica McIver, a New Jersey Democrat who was involved in a chaotic confrontation with officials outside a federal immigration facility earlier this month.

The criminal charge follows a May 9 visit by McIver, along with her colleagues Reps. Rob Menendez and Bonnie Watson Coleman, to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Newark that unfolded in a tussle and resulted in the arrest of the city’s Democratic mayor.

New Jersey interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba

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, escalating a confrontation between the political branches, while also agreeing to drop the pending trespass charge against Mayor Ras Baraka.

“I have persistently made efforts to address these issues without bringing criminal charges and have given Representative McIver every opportunity to come to a resolution, but she has unfortunately declined,” Habba said in a statement.

The charge is an extraordinary stress-test for the separation of powers at a time in which President Donald Trump is seeking to maximize executive branch dominance. House ********* Leader Hakeem Jeffries last week warned against federal law enforcement targeting the Democratic members and called arrests a “red line.”

The formal charging documents were not immediately made public, but Habba cited a

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that makes it a crime to engage in an assault on a federal officer. It’s a felony when the assault involves “physical contact with the victim.” McIver is being charged “for assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement,” according to Habba.

The three lawmakers last Friday attempted to inspect Delaney Hall — the Trump administration’s newest immigrant detention facility — for oversight, as members of Congress are allowed to do by law. Charges have not been announced for Menendez nor Watson Coleman.

“The charges against me are purely political — they mischaracterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight,” McIver said in a statement. “This administration will never stop me from working for the people in our district and standing up for what is right. I am thankful for the outpouring of support I have received and I look forward to the truth being laid out clearly in court.”

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