As RedState previously reported, three House members from New Jersey – Robert Menendez Jr, Bonnie Watson Coleman, and LaMonica McIver – all showed out upon arrival at the Delaney Hall ICE detention center in Newark in early May.
Per local reports, they were stopped at the first checkpoint after attempting to go beyond the gates, ostensibly for “oversight” purposes. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) took it even further, trying to get in through a side entrance. After that, things became quite chippy and chaotic between the Democrats and federal authorities before Baraka was eventually arrested.
Though the Trump administration said right off the bat that they wouldn’t rule out charges against one or more of the Democrats after video appeared to show McIver putting her hands on ICE officials, the three Dems insisted they did nothing wrong. Watson Coleman, however, did slip up and essentially admit she and her colleagues had tried to obstruct justice in shielding the mayor.
READ MORE: Democrat New Jersey Congresswoman Digs Deeper Hole in Describing Actions at ICE Detention Facility
Soon after, the DOJ did bring charges against McIver over her alleged role in the incident, with US Attorney Alina Habba announcing on May 19th that “my office has charged Congresswoman McIver with violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 111(a)(1) for assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement.”
Though McIver reacted by accusing the DOJ of bringing “purely political” charges against her, saying they were “meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight,” it still didn’t help her escape indictment, which was revealed by Habba on Tuesday:
Today a federal grand jury seated in Newark, New Jersey 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.
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. 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.
Today’s decision by the grand jury is the next step in a process that my Office will pursue to a just end.
The statement issued by McIver in response declares that she will “not be intimidated” and that this is “an effort by Trump’s administration to dodge accountability for the chaos ICE caused and scare me out of doing the work I was elected to do.”
This indictment is no more justified than the original charges. I will not be intimidated. My full statement: pic.twitter.com/C0aZyrnNx8
— Rep. LaMonica McIver (@RepLaMonica) June 10, 2025
Welcome to “no one is above the law” – Trump edition, aka the next Find Out phase, Rep. McIver.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to RedState for updates.
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