New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver has pleaded not guilty to charges alleging she assaulted law enforcement officers outside of an immigration detention facility, her office said.
McIver appeared in a federal court on Wednesday for her arraignment after a federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment earlier this month charging her with “assaulting, resisting, impeding and interfering” with federal law enforcement officers.
Rep. LaMonica McIver arrives at Federal Court for her arraignment on June 25, 2025.
Derek French/UPI via Shutterstock
The Democratic congresswoman has alleged the prosecution is politically motivated, and her office called the charges “baseless.”
“This is political intimidation,” McIver said at a press conference Wednesday on Capitol Hill while joined by dozens of Democratic lawmakers.
“This is Trump weaponizing the DOJ for people who speak out against him, for members and elected leaders who do their jobs to hold this administration accountable,” she said, adding, “We will not be intimidated.”
In this May 9, 2025, file photo, Rep. LaMonica McIver exits the grounds at Delaney Hall, an ICE detention facility in Newark, N.J.
Angelina Katsanis/AP, FILE
On May 9, McIver and several other members of Congress were at Delaney Hall, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Newark, to conduct oversight.
Tensions escalated when a federal officer ordered Newark Mayor Ras Baraka to leave a secured area of the facility or face arrest, and pushing and shoving allegedly occurred, according to prosecutors.
“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,” the Department of Justice said in a press release following the indictment. “McIver also used each of her forearms to forcibly strike a second officer.”
McIver’s spokeswoman, Hanna Rumsey, said Wednesday that the congresswoman “confidently entered her official plea: not guilty.”
“These charges have always been about politics and Rep. McIver will not be deterred from doing the work the people of New Jersey elected her to do,” Rumsey said in a statement. “The Congresswoman will not fold.”
Supporters of McIver gathered outside the Newark federal court on Wednesday, with some calling for the closure of Delaney Hall.
Supporters of Rep. LaMonica Mclver hold signs outside a federal court, June 25, 2025, in Newark, N.J.
Yuki Iwamura/AP
If convicted, the maximum penalty for the charges in the indictment ranges from one to eight years, according to interim New Jersey U.S. Attorney Alina Habba.
“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,” Habba, President Donald Trump’s former defense attorney, said in a statement following the indictment. “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.”
Baraka was arrested at the facility and charged with trespassing, though Habba later dropped the charge.
ABC News’ Arthur Jones II contributed to this report.