Dem Congresswoman faces 17 years in jail for confronting a police officer

Rep. LaMonica McIver's attorneys are set to appear before a U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals panel Wednesday morning in Wilmington, Delaware.

Her legal team seeks to overturn her federal assault charges stemming from a May 2025 confrontation at Newark's Delaney Hall migrant detention facility, according to New Jersey Monitor's Sophie Nieto-Muñoz.

Congresswoman McIver (D-NJ) and her allies contend she is a political target prosecuted for opposing the Trump administration's mass detention and deportation policies.

The incident occurred during an oversight visit when federal agents arrested Newark's Democratic Mayor Ras Baraka for trespassing. Body camera footage shows McIver shoving an officer during the resulting confrontation.

McIver now faces up to 17 years in prison.

“They want to criminalize oversight and lock me up. Whatever they try, we’re not backing down,” McIver said during a meeting of House Democrats in Newark last week.

Her legal team argues she has legislative immunity under the Constitution's speech or debate clause and claims selective and vindictive prosecution.

Prosecutors counter, claiming her actions were not legislative acts. Federal officials compared McIver to Antifa-aligned left-wing violent extremists, according to reports by The New Jersey Monitor.

A federal judge previously rejected her immunity argument, prompting the appeal.

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