A Democratic congresswoman from New Jersey has been indicted for her rough-and-tumble tactics during a protest last month at a detention center holding illegal immigrants.

According to a news release from the Department of Justice, Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver was charged with three counts after trying to plow her way through immigration agents to prevent a fellow Democrat from being arrested, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba announced.

The allegations grew out of a scrum that took place on May 9 in which Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested for not leaving a secure area of the ICE facility, as noted by the News and Standard. McIver was also charged with assaulting two federal agents, as noted by The New York Times.

The DOJ news release noted that during the incident, Democratic members of Congress who were present were allowed into a secure area because they claimed they were conducting a congressional oversight inspection.

Baraka, to whom that did not apply, was told he needed to leave the secure area and, according to the release, was given “multiple warnings that he would be arrested if he did not leave.”

McIver and her fellow Democrats tried to shield Baraka from arrest, the release said.

“After the Mayor was escorted outside the secured area, law enforcement officers made a second attempt to arrest him,” the release said, as the crowd called to protect him from arrest.

“McIver then faced the Mayor and placed her arms around him in an effort to prevent HSI from completing the arrest,” the release continued, referring to Homeland Security Investigations.

“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.”

On the first two counts of forcible impeding and interfering, McIver faces a maximum prison sentence of 16 years. The third count carries a maximum sentence of one year.

“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 said in a post on X.

Today a federal grand jury seated in Newark, New Jersey returned a three-count indictment charging U.S. Representative LaMonica McIver with forcibly impeding and interfering with federal law enforcement officers. This indictment has a maximum penalty of 8 years for Count One, an…

— US Attorney Habba (@USAttyHabba) June 10, 2025

“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,” she wrote.

McIver responded on X by saying the grand jury indictment was nothing but politics.

“The facts of this case will prove I was simply doing my job and will expose these proceedings for what they are: a brazen attempt at political intimidation,” she said.

This indictment is no more justified than the original charges. I will not be intimidated. My full statement: pic.twitter.com/C0aZyrnNx8

— Rep. LaMonica McIver (@RepLaMonica) June 10, 2025

“This indictment is no more justified than the original charges, and is an effort by Trump’s administration to dodge accountability for the chaos ICE caused and scare me out of doing the work I was elected to do.”

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