DOJ charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver are ‘extreme’ and ‘outrageous,’ according to 11 GOP former members of Congress, Senate
Rep. LaMonica McIver charged following ICE facility visit
Rep. LaMonica McIver was charged following a chaotic confrontation with law enforcement outside of an ICE facility.
Eleven former Republican members of the U.S. House and Senate denounced the felony charges filed against Rep. LaMonica McIver after her visit to a New Jersey immigrant detention facility earlier this month.
“The constitutional duties of Members of Congress include not only passing legislation but also oversight of executive branch implementation of those laws. That is an essential dimension of American checks and balances,” the group said in a joint statement exclusively provided to USA TODAY. “Rep. Mclver was present at the ICE facility as part of her official congressional duties. We believe this extreme response to the events of that day is unwarranted.”
They also called on other current and former lawmakers to join them.
“This behavior by the Trump administration is outrageous,” said former Rep. Claudine Schneider of Rhode Island. “Every member of Congress, both past and present, should be speaking up. If not, we will very soon lose our ability to do so.”
Charging a sitting member of congress with assault, especially while doing something that falls under their responsibilities, is highly contentious. Republicans have said the Justice Department is defending the rule of law regardless of who the accused offender is. Democrats have said the Trump administration is trying to intimidate them out of performing their role overseeing how the executive branch implements laws.
Members of Congress are allowed to visit immigrant detention facilities unannounced.
Democrats have rallied around McIver, who was charged by the Justice Department with assaulting a law enforcement officer during a recent encounter outside a Newark immigration center.
South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace filed a resolution May 20 to expel McIver over the incident, thought it is not expected to gain much traction so soon after the charges were filed.
McIver and two other New Jersey Democrats, Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez, were present May 9 to tour the facility when officers arrested Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for attempting to join them. Baraka entered a restricted area with the members but left when instructed to. Officers then followed and arrested him.
The criminal complaint against McIver says she “slammed her forearms” into immigration officers as they attempted to arrest Baraka. McIver denies any wrongdoing and contends the prosecution is politically motivated.
Publicly available videos of the May 9 incident show a lot of jostling around the Congresswoman but little evidence that she was attacking or targeting officials in the chaotic scene.
A misdemeanor trespassing charge against Baraka was dropped. On May 21, Magistrate Judge André M. Espinosa allowed the office of Interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, formerly a lawyer for President Donald Trump, to retract the charge, which he called “embarrassing” and a “worrisome misstep.” Espinosa also called the arrest “hasty” and said the office needs to operate at a “higher standard.”
“Your role is not to secure convictions at all costs, nor to satisfy public clamor, nor to advance political agendas,” Espinosa said to the government’s lawyer. “Your allegiance is to the impartial application of the law, to the pursuit of truth and to the upholding of due process for all.”