Democrat LaMonica McIver Indicted over Storming of ICE Detention Center, Faces 17 Years in Federal Prison

A federal grand jury has issued a three-count federal indictment against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) after she was reportedly caught on camera storming an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Newark, New Jersey, last month.

On Tuesday, a federal grand jury in Newark returned an indictment against McIver, charging her with forcibly impeding and interfering with ICE agents while they were trying to arrest an illegal alien outside of Delaney Hall detention center on May 9.

According to the indictment, McIver, as well as Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ), were outside Delaney Hall to conduct congressional oversight when their oversight coincided with a protest by open borders activists.

The charges against McIver stem from her attempts to prevent Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) from being arrested after he refused to leave the secured area of the detention center that he was not authorized to be in.

“After the Congressional Delegation entered the secured area of the facility, the Mayor of Newark arrived and was given access to the secured area. A federal officer then informed the Mayor that he was not authorized to be in the facility’s secured area, and issued the Mayor multiple warnings that he would be arrested if he did not leave,” a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release states of the indictment:

McIver and other members of the Congressional Delegation overheard this conversation and challenged the officer, protesting the Mayor’s removal. When officers moved in to arrest the Mayor, McIver and others surrounded the Mayor and prevented the officers from handcuffing him. [Emphasis added]

After the Mayor was escorted outside the secured area, law enforcement officers made a second attempt to arrest him. At this time, someone in the crowd yelled “circle the mayor.” McIver then faced the Mayor and placed her arms around him in an effort to prevent HSI from completing the arrest. 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. McIver also used each of her forearms to forcibly strike a second officer. [Emphasis added]

“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,” U.S. Attorney Alina Habba said in a statement.

“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,” Habba said.

McIver now faces up to 17 years in federal prison if convicted on the charges.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter here.