Democratic Rep. McIver Charged with Assault After Skirmish at ICE Centre, New Jersey Prosecutor Says

Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver is being charged with assault after a skirmish with federal officers outside an immigration detention centre. New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor also announced Monday that she was dropping a trespassing case against the Newark mayor whose arrest led to the disturbance. The prosecution is a rare federal criminal case against a sitting member of Congress for allegations other than fraud or corruption. The case instantly taps into a much broader and more consequential power struggle between a Trump administration engaged in a sweeping overhaul of immigration policy and a Democratic party scrambling for ways to respond. It is not clear from bodycam video whether that contact was intentional, incidental or a result of jostling in the chaotic scene. At one point her left elbow and then her right elbow push into an officer wearing a dark face covering and an olive green uniform emblazoned with the word “Police” on it. At the same time, Habba announced that her office agreed to dismiss a misdemeanour charge against Democratic Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.

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