Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) is being charged with assault after a melee outside an immigration detention facility in Newark on May 9.

The decision to charge McIver was announced on Monday evening by Alina Habba, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey. Habba in the past served as a personal lawyer to President Trump and remains a fervent supporter.

McIver denies any wrongdoing and contends the prosecution is politically motivated.

Wherever the matter goes from here, charging a sitting member of Congress for assault in contentious circumstances is controversial by its nature.

Supporters of Habba’s decision say it demonstrates that nobody is above the law. Critics argue it is part of a broader push by Trump and his allies to intimidate their opponents.

Here are answers to some key questions.

McIver was one of three New Jersey Democrats who showed up to inspect the detention facility, Delaney Hall, which is privately operated but used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

The other members were Reps. Rob Menendez and Bonnie Watson Coleman. Also present was Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D).

Members of Congress have the right to carry out oversight inspections of federal immigration detention facilities without giving prior notice. The same privilege does not extend to other officeholders — a point that became important after Baraka was arrested, allegedly for trespassing.

However, Habba announced the dropping of the trespassing charge against Baraka — “for the sake of moving forward” — in the same statement in which she outlined charges against McIver.

McIver faces two counts of assault. The specific offense in both counts is “Assaulting, Resisting, and Impeding Certain Officers or Employees.”

The criminal complaint, filed on Monday, alleges that the congresswoman “slammed her forearm into the body” of one Homeland Security Investigations agent and pushed and “used each of her forearms to forcibly strike” another agent. 

The case has become a political firestorm in part because there is video footage of the relevant events, but much of it is chaotic or inconclusive.

The criminal complaint includes several images from body camera video. McIver is identifiable by the red blazer she was wearing.

The images from the alleged assault on the first agent are fuzzy and ill-defined in some instances. In the images that are sharper, exactly what is going on is unclear.

The more problematic encounter for McIver is in relation to the second agent. The video from which the still images are taken does show her using each forearm — first the left, then the right — to push against the back of a masked agent.

That being said, she could argue there are extenuating circumstances in the fracas that were not picked up on camera. There is a whole separate debate about whether two pushes from the forearm amid chaotic scenes rise to the level that would normally be prosecuted as a felony assault.

In a statement released on Monday night, McIver contended that it was ICE agents who had “created an unnecessary and unsafe confrontation” when they moved to arrest the Newark mayor. She also asserted that the charges “mischaracterize and distort my actions.”

In a CNN interview on Tuesday, the congresswoman called the charges “absurd.”

Delaney Hall is a controversial facility that is earmarked for housing migrants as part of Trump’s crackdown on illegal migration.

According to public broadcasting station WHYY, the facility had operated as a halfway house before a new deal was reached with ICE in February for its use as a detention facility.

The new deal provides for the GEO Group to operate Delaney Hall as a 1,000-bed facility for a period of 15 years. The contract is said to be worth $1 billion.

When that deal was announced in February, the New Jersey chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) blasted the move as “a serious threat to New Jersey’s immigrant communities.”

The ACLU’s Amol Sinha also contended that “this massive increase in detention capacity places the public in further danger of the Trump administration’s unconstitutional, racist, and xenophobic mass detention and deportation agenda.” 

GEO hailed the February deal, characterizing its support services as including “the exclusive use of the Facility by ICE, along with security, maintenance, and food services, as well as access to recreational amenities, medical care, and legal counsel.” 

The president weighed in on the matter from Capitol Hill, where he met with House Republicans in an effort to expedite passage of key legislation.

Asked by a reporter whether the charges against McIver’s case amounted to “weaponizing” the justice system, Trump responded: “Oh, give me a break.”

He continued: “Did you see her? She was out of control. Those days are over. The days of ‘woke’ are over. That woman — I have no idea who she is — that woman was out of control. She was shoving federal agents, she was out of control. The days of that crap are over in this country. We are going to have law and order.”

Trump’s assertion of the importance of law and order raised eyebrows from his critics, in light of his mass pardoning of and clemency for people convicted of offenses related to the Capitol Riot of Jan. 6, 2021.

Democrats are rallying around McIver.

The party’s leadership in the House, spearheaded by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), released a joint statement in support of their colleague late on Monday night.

The leadership statement said the charging of McIver is “extreme, morally bankrupt and lacks any basis in law or fact.”

Other high-profile Democrats also weighed in to defend McIver and excoriate Habba’s decision.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote on social media that the congresswoman was “doing her job.” Warren added, “Trump’s former personal attorney weaponizing the justice system is right out of the authoritarian playbook. We won’t be intimidated.”

Democratic members of Congress also held a rally in front of the Capitol in support of McIver on Tuesday.

One participant, former Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), later wrote on social media that the “targeting” of McIver was “a blatant attempt to intimidate members of Congress from doing our jobs.”

From the other side of the partisan divide, Trump’s border czar Tom Homan told MSNBC’s Chris Jansing on Tuesday that McIver “had made body contact with ICE officers and pushed them.”

Homan alleged McIver’s behavior was “unprofessional.” He added, “I think she crossed a line. …The video I saw shows her at fault.”

Presumably, McIver is going to have to officially respond to the charges.

Asked during her Tuesday morning CNN interview by Kate Bolduan whether she would be “turning herself in” or showing up in court, the congresswoman replied, “We are still trying to get more information on what the next steps are.”

McIver added it was “business as usual” even as her attorneys are in contact with the federal courts in New Jersey about where the case goes from here.