What happened
The Justice Department is charging Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) with allegedly "assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement" during a May 9 tussle outside an immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced Monday. She also said she was dropping misdemeanor trespassing charges against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) stemming from the incident "for the sake of moving forward."
Who said what
The Department of Homeland Security released body-camera video it says shows McIver elbowing masked law enforcement officials outside the Delaney Hall detention facility, where she and two other congressional Democrats had come for a surprise inspection, as allowed under federal law. McIver and her colleagues said the ICE agents shoved and assaulted them. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the charges were based on a "thorough review of the video footage." But the government's narrative has been "contradicted" by other video footage and "by witnesses who were at the scene," The New York Times said.
Charging a sitting member of Congress "after a heated clash in which no one was injured" is a "highly unusual decision," The Washington Post said. It's also an "extraordinary stress-test for the separation of powers at a time in which President Donald Trump is seeking to maximize executive branch dominance," Politico said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Prosecuting McIver is "extreme, morally bankrupt and lacks any basis in law or fact," House Democratic leaders said. "No one is above the law — politicians or otherwise," said Habba, a former defense lawyer for Trump. "Assaults on federal law enforcement will not be tolerated," said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, another former Trump defense attorney.
What next?
This "spectacularly inappropriate" prosecution is an "attempt to shift the blame" from ICE's escalation of "what should have been a peaceful situation into chaos," said McIver's lawyer, Paul Fishman, a former U.S. attorney for New Jersey. "In the courtroom, facts — not headlines — will matter." McIver said the charges were "purely political" and she looked "forward to the truth being laid out clearly in court."
-
Shutdown: Democrats stand firm, at a costFeature With Trump refusing to negotiate, Democrats’ fight over health care could push the government toward a shutdown
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deploymentSpeed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland
-
Trump declares new tariffs on drugs, trucks, furnitureSpeed Read He's putting tariffs of 25% on semi trucks, 30% on upholstered furniture, 50% on kitchen and bathroom cabinetry and 100% on certain drugs
-
Amazon reaches ‘historic’ $2.5B Prime settlementspeed read The company allegedly tricked customers into signing up for Prime membership that was then difficult to cancel
-
Trump DOJ indicts Comey, longtime Trump targetSpeed Read The president is using the Justice Department to prosecute his political enemies
-
Trump’s plan for a government shutdown: mass firingsIN THE SPOTLIGHT As lawmakers scramble to avoid a shutdown, the White House is making plans for widespread layoffs that could lead to a permanent federal downsizing
-
Gunman kills 1 detainee, wounds 2 at ICE facilitySpeed Read A sniper shot three detainees at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office before fatally shooting himself
-
Trump DOJ reportedly rushing to indict ComeySpeed Read Former FBI Director James Comey oversaw the initial 2016 investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia
