Civil Liberties Groups Condemn DOJ’s Prosecution of Rep. LaMonica McIver

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice’s decision to charge Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) with assaulting federal officers during an immigration oversight visit has ignited a political firestorm, drawing sharp criticism from civil liberties groups, Democratic lawmakers, and constitutional scholars who see the move as an unprecedented escalation in the Trump administration’s campaign to suppress dissent and chill congressional oversight.

The charges stem from a confrontation on May 9 outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, where Rep. McIver, along with fellow Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman and Robert Menendez, Jr., joined Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and a group of peaceful protesters in an authorized inspection visit. During the scuffle that ensued when federal officers arrested Baraka, McIver was seen on video shouting for protesters to “surround the mayor” and appearing to jostle with law enforcement as agents moved to detain him. While no injuries were reported, federal prosecutors allege McIver assaulted, resisted, and impeded law enforcement officers — a charge her supporters have denounced as baseless and politically motivated.

In a statement Monday, Mike Zamore, national director of policy and government affairs at the ACLU, and Amol Sinha, executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey, called the prosecution “a method more suited for authoritarianism than American democracy.” They defended McIver’s right to perform her constitutionally authorized oversight duties, particularly in response to the Trump administration’s aggressive expansion of immigration detention and enforcement in New Jersey and across the country.

“If the Trump administration can target elected officials who oppose its extreme agenda, it can happen to any one of us,” the ACLU said, calling for the charges to be immediately dropped.

Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) also weighed in, condemning the DOJ’s decision in a strongly worded statement. “These charges are clearly unfounded,” Booker said. “Representative McIver was exercising her legally protected authority as a member of Congress to conduct oversight of a detention center that receives millions of taxpayer dollars. Federal officials unnecessarily escalated what should have been a run-of-the-mill inspection.” He noted that McIver was invited back inside the facility after the incident to finish the tour — a fact Democrats have cited to question the seriousness and credibility of the prosecution.

The U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Alina Habba — a former Trump attorney with a record of sanctions and judicial reprimands — announced the charges late Monday, while simultaneously dropping a separate trespassing charge against Mayor Baraka. Habba claimed she attempted to reach a resolution with McIver before pressing charges but offered no explanation for her reversal on Baraka. As of Monday night, McIver’s legal team said they had not yet seen formal charging documents.

McIver released a public statement calling the charges “purely political,” echoing growing concerns among legal observers that the Trump-aligned DOJ is using prosecutorial power to punish critics of the administration’s immigration agenda.

Democratic leaders in the House denounced the move as a dangerous assault on the separation of powers. “The proceeding initiated by the so-called U.S. Attorney in New Jersey is a blatant attempt by the Trump administration to intimidate Congress and interfere with our ability to serve as a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a joint statement with other top Democrats. “House Democrats will not be intimidated by the Trump administration. Not today. Not ever.”

The decision to charge McIver comes amid broader concerns that the Justice Department is loosening its own internal guardrails. The Washington Post reported last week that the DOJ is considering dropping the long-standing requirement that career prosecutors specializing in public corruption approve indictments of sitting members of Congress — a safeguard intended to prevent politically motivated prosecutions.

Some Republicans celebrated the charges, including Rep. Mark Green (R-TN), chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, who introduced a resolution to strip McIver and her colleagues of their committee assignments. “We need to send a clear message to would-be lawbreakers around this country—under this administration, no matter how privileged you are, you will be subject to the rule of law,” Green said.

But McIver’s attorney, former U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman, blasted the prosecution as “spectacularly inappropriate” and politically charged. “Rather than facilitating that inspection, ICE agents chose to escalate what should have been a peaceful situation into chaos,” Fishman said. “This prosecution is an attempt to shift the blame for ICE’s behavior to Congresswoman McIver. In the courtroom, facts — not headlines — will matter.”

Video footage from the incident shows McIver shouting and moving through a dense crowd during Baraka’s arrest. At one point, her elbow appears to make contact with a federal officer. But critics of the prosecution argue that the physical interaction was minimal and occurred in the chaos of a heated moment in a public space. They point out that McIver was not arrested on-site and that officials allowed her to complete her tour of the facility — a sign that her conduct did not pose a serious concern at the time.

The arrest of a sitting member of Congress for such conduct is nearly without precedent and marks a striking expansion of the Trump administration’s willingness to pursue criminal charges against public officials who challenge its authority. Just weeks earlier, a Wisconsin judge was arrested for allegedly helping an undocumented person avoid ICE agents — a move many viewed as similarly political.

As outrage mounts and congressional leaders rally in McIver’s defense, the coming weeks are likely to test not only the legal merits of the case, but also the strength of the nation’s democratic institutions. For many observers, the case against LaMonica McIver is more than a legal matter — it’s a warning shot aimed at those who dare to hold power accountable.

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