Rep. LaMonica McIver appeared in federal court Tuesday as she continued to fight a three-count indictment accusing her of impeding and interfering with federal officers at a Newark, New Jersey, ICE detention facility in May.
Judge Jamel Semper did not rule on McIver’s motion to dismiss the charges but raised concerns about Department of Homeland Security statements online referencing the incident.
The judge said it was prejudicial for “fact-free” social media posts from government officials to remain public while McIver’s case is pending, warning they could taint a future jury pool.
Semper noted that some government posts included information “counter to the indictment,” such as claims that McIver trespassed and that the incident was tied to Antifa activity.
Prosecutor Mark McCarren told the court that DHS press releases about the incident have already been removed and said he would push to have the remaining social media posts taken down.
One post still visible on the official DHS X account suggested members of Congress “stormed” the facility gate.
McIver, who was indicted in June, faces charges connected to what prosecutors describe as an attempt to physically interfere with the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka outside the facility.
At the time, McIver was visiting the ICE site with Democratic Reps. Rob Menendez and Bonnie Watson Coleman for an oversight inspection as part of her work on the House Homeland Security Committee.
Defense attorneys said ICE employees delayed access to the lawmakers and obstructed their oversight visit.
Officials removed Baraka from the facility when he tried to join the group, and he was later arrested outside for trespassing alongside protesters. The charge was later dropped.
Prosecutors allege McIver “slammed” her forearm into an ICE agent and grabbed him in an attempt to restrain him while also striking another officer as she returned inside the secure area.
They said they plan to rely on surveillance and body camera footage showing a scuffle lasting just over a minute if the trial proceeds as scheduled on November 10.
McIver’s attorney, Paul Fishman, argued that any actions she took were covered by the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause because she was performing official legislative duties.
Judge Semper questioned whether an alleged assault outside the facility gate could be considered part of congressional business.
McIver’s defense team described the prosecution as retaliatory and politically motivated, calling it “part of a broader partisan agenda of ending ‘wokeness.’”
President Donald Trump has previously commented on the case, saying the “days of woke are over.”
Fishman said McIver’s case stands in contrast to Trump’s past pardons of individuals charged in the January 6 Capitol riot.
“She was charged with something she never would’ve been charged with if she was a Republican,” he said.
Semper challenged the defense on that point, noting that the other Democratic lawmakers present during the May 9 incident were not charged.
Fishman said McIver was shoved by an ICE agent and caught in a confrontation she did not start.
McIver expressed concern on X, saying she has heard prosecutors suggest she could face up to 17 years in prison.
“Hearing prosecutors say I could get 17 years in jail for showing up to do my job, for protecting the people that I represent, who have elected me to protect them—it is stressful,” she wrote. “Some nights are sleepless, but we have to stand up for each other.”
