Staff (Governent) – May 21, 2025

U.S. Attorney Alina Habba Charges Congresswoman LaMonica McIver with Assault: Video Evidence Sparks Controversy

On May 20, 2025, interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba announced federal charges against Democratic Congresswoman LaMonica McIver, accusing her of assaulting, resisting, and impeding law enforcement officers during a chaotic incident outside the Delaney Hall ICE detention center in Newark on May 9, 2025. The charges, which have ignited a firestorm of political debate, are supported by ICE officer bodycam footage that prosecutors claim clearly depicts McIver’s alleged assault. However, McIver and her supporters denounce the charges as politically motivated, arguing they aim to undermine congressional oversight of immigration facilities. This article examines Habba’s statement, the video evidence, and the broader implications of this rare prosecution of a sitting member of Congress.

Alina Habba’s Statement and Charges

In a statement posted on X and reiterated in a press release, Alina Habba, a former personal attorney to President Donald Trump and the interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, declared that her office had charged McIver with two counts of violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 111(a)(1) for “assaulting, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement.” Habba emphasized that “no one is above the law—politicians or otherwise,” underscoring her constitutional obligation to protect federal law enforcement officers executing their duties. She noted that she had attempted to resolve the matter without charges, offering McIver “every opportunity to come to a resolution,” but claimed McIver declined, necessitating the prosecution.

Habba’s announcement also included a decision to dismiss a misdemeanor trespassing charge against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was arrested during the same incident. She stated this was “for the sake of moving forward” and offered to personally accompany Baraka on a tour of Delaney Hall, asserting that “the government has nothing to hide at this facility.” The charges against McIver, however, have drawn significant attention due to their rarity—federal prosecutions of sitting members of Congress for allegations unrelated to fraud or corruption are highly unusual.

The Incident and Video Evidence

The charges stem from a May 9, 2025, confrontation outside Delaney Hall, a recently reopened ICE detention center in Newark, during a congressional oversight visit by McIver and fellow New Jersey Democratic Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez, accompanied by Mayor Baraka. The lawmakers sought to inspect the facility’s conditions, a right granted to members of Congress under federal law to conduct unannounced oversight of immigration detention centers. Tensions escalated when Baraka, who had been denied entry days earlier, was arrested for trespassing, prompting a chaotic scene involving protesters, lawmakers, and ICE agents.

Bodycam footage released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and cited by prosecutors provides the primary evidence against McIver. A nearly two-minute clip shows McIver, identifiable in a bright red jacket, on the facility side of a chain-link fence as Baraka is arrested on the street side. As federal agents move to detain Baraka, McIver is seen passing through the gate, joining others shouting “surround the mayor.” The footage captures her in a tightly packed group, where she appears to make physical contact with officers. Specifically, court documents allege that McIver “slammed her forearm into the body” of a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent and attempted to “restrain” the officer by “forcibly grabbing him.” After Baraka’s arrest, she is accused of pushing an ICE deportation officer and striking them with both forearms.

Additional footage shared by outlets like Fox News and referenced in posts on X shows McIver in a heated exchange, with some claiming she verbally abused agents, shouting profanities such as “I touch whoever I want motherf*cker!” The eight-page criminal complaint includes stills from bodycam footage, depicting McIver’s alleged physical actions, which prosecutors describe as “multiple attempts to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, and interfere with the agents.” However, the footage is not conclusive on whether the contact was intentional or a result of the chaotic jostling, as noted by some sources.

McIver’s Defense and Political Backlash

McIver has vehemently denied the allegations, calling the charges “purely political” and an attempt to “criminalize and deter legislative oversight.” In a statement, she asserted that the visit was a lawful exercise of her congressional duties, and ICE agents escalated the situation by arresting Baraka. “Our visit should have been peaceful and short,” she said, expressing confidence that “the truth will be laid out clearly in court.” In a CNN interview, McIver rejected claims of assault, stating, “I honestly do not know how to body slam anyone, and there’s no video that supports me body slamming anyone.”

Her attorney, Paul Fishman, a former U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, called the charges “spectacularly inappropriate,” arguing that McIver was fulfilling her responsibility to oversee ICE’s treatment of detainees. He claimed ICE agents created “chaos” rather than facilitating the inspection, and the prosecution seeks to shift blame from ICE to McIver. House Democratic leadership, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, condemned the charges as “extreme, morally bankrupt, and lacking any basis in law or fact,” framing them as an attempt by the Trump administration to intimidate Congress and undermine its oversight role. The ACLU of New Jersey echoed this, warning that targeting elected officials in this manner is “more suited for authoritarianism than American democracy.”

Controversy Over the Video Evidence

The bodycam footage has become a focal point of contention. Supporters of Habba, including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, argue that it provides “indisputable evidence” of McIver’s actions, with Noem stating that the charges followed a “thorough review of the video footage” and an HSI investigation. Some X posts, including one from

@BadFoxGraphics, highlight the footage as key to Habba’s case, while others, like

@OANN, cite legal opinions claiming McIver is “dead to rights.”

Conversely, critics argue the footage is inconclusive. A post from

@atrupar suggests Habba’s claims may contain “obvious false statements” disproven by the bodycam footage, accusing her of violating DOJ rules with her public statements. The video shows a crowded, chaotic scene, and it remains unclear whether McIver’s physical contact was deliberate or incidental. Democratic lawmakers noted that McIver was allowed to tour the facility for an hour after the incident, suggesting she did not engage in criminal activity. McIver’s claim that no video supports allegations of a “body slam” aligns with some analyses questioning the intent behind her actions in the footage.

Political and Legal Implications

The prosecution of McIver taps into a broader conflict between the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda and Democratic efforts to conduct oversight. The Delaney Hall incident follows other high-profile clashes, such as the arrest of a Wisconsin judge for allegedly aiding a migrant, signaling a pattern of targeting officials opposing immigration policies. Republican lawmakers have supported the charges, with some proposing censures or committee removals for McIver and her colleagues, while Trump himself called McIver “out of control” and declared “the days of that crap are over.”

Habba’s role as a Trump-appointed prosecutor has fueled accusations of politicization. Her history as Trump’s attorney, marked by judicial reprimands in unrelated cases, has drawn scrutiny, with critics like

@atrupar questioning her impartiality. The case, handled by prosecutor Stephen Demanovich, who recently joined Habba’s office, is also notable for its limited prosecutorial team, raising questions about its prioritization.

Looking Ahead

As McIver awaits her initial court appearance, the case promises to be a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over immigration policy and congressional authority. The bodycam footage, while central to the prosecution’s case, remains subject to interpretation, with McIver’s defense poised to challenge its portrayal of intent. The outcome will likely hinge on whether the court finds the contact intentional and significant enough to warrant conviction, with each count carrying a potential one-year prison sentence.

For now, McIver remains defiant, vowing to continue her work despite the charges. The controversy underscores deep divisions over immigration enforcement and the role of political appointments in the justice system. As the case progresses, the public and the courts will scrutinize the video evidence and Habba’s claims, determining whether this prosecution upholds justice or serves as a political maneuver.