Judge Denies Rep. McIver’s Motions to Dismiss Assault Charges

The House representative alleged she was selectively targeted by federal prosecutors after a clash with federal agents at an immigration detention center.

Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) demands the release of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka after his arrest while protesting outside an ICE detention facility in Newark, N.J., on May 9, 2025. Angelina Katsanis/AP Photo

A federal judge denied a request by Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) on Thursday to toss out charges filed against her for allegedly assaulting federal agents outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) center in New Jersey earlier this year.

U.S. District Judge Jamel Semper found the congresswoman failed to show the prosecution was vindictive and that her actions were “wholly disconnected” from the oversight she claims she was conducting as a member of Congress.

McIver asked the judge to dismiss the case because her visit to Newark’s Delaney Hall immigration detention center on May 9 was protected by constitutional legislative immunity.

The New Jersey representative claims she was targeted by the Trump administration for “doing her job” by holding the administration accountable.

“We all know why this is happening,” McIver said outside the courtroom on Oct. 21. “I’m clear why this is happening: It’s because I was doing my job and I continue to do so.”

McIver did not return a request for comment about Thursday’s decision by the time of publication.

On May 19, prosecutors charged McIver with two counts of assaulting, resisting, and impeding an ICE agent and a Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) special agent during a protest held outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, New Jersey. The 1,000-bed privately owned center is being used by the Trump administration to detain illegal immigrants.

The court reserved ruling on McIver’s motion to dismiss the case last month but instructed the government to remove certain public statements negatively describing McIver.

The Trump administration removed five online statements by the Department of Homeland Security that said representatives at the protest had “stormed the gate and broke into the facility” in a “bizarre political stunt.”

U.S. Attorney Alina Habba said on May 19 that McIver’s conduct at the ICE facility “cannot be overlooked” by prosecutors. Habba claimed she had made efforts to resolve the matter without filing criminal charges but that McIver declined “every opportunity to come to a resolution.”

McIver pleaded not guilty on June 25 to the assault charges.

Videos from the May 9 protest were shared widely on social media, showing McIver standing with two other Democratic members of Congress, along with a handful of state officials and Newark’s Mayor Ras Baraka, outside a gate at the immigration detention center.

The video shows McIver clashing with federal officers who tried to arrest the mayor, whom McIver appeared to be shielding from officers.

Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) in Newark on Oct. 21, 2025. Juliette Fairley /The Epoch Times

Federal officials released another video, which they say shows McIver pushing officers as they tried to arrest Baraka. The clip shows McIver and uniformed officials going through the center’s gate, where she joins others shouting that they should circle the mayor.

At one point, the video shows McIver making contact with an officer. The government’s complaint alleges she slammed her forearm into an agent and then tried to restrain the agent by grabbing him. The indictment also claims McIver placed her arms around the mayor to try to stop his arrest and again made contact with an agent.

Baraka, who was also a candidate in the Democratic primary for New Jersey mayor, was arrested on trespassing charges after entering and staying inside the detention center property. His charges were dropped by the federal prosecutor.

Aldgra Fredly and The Associated Press contributed to this report.