FIRST ON FOX: New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver is fundraising off her federal charges for allegedly "assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement" earlier this month at the gates of Delaney Hall, which is a privately-operated Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Newark.
"As you know, Trump is using his Department of Justice to target political opponents. Less than two weeks ago, I was doing my job and conducting oversight at an ICE facility in my city," the fundraising text obtained by Fox News Digital stated.
"Now, the Trump admin has filed charges against me. This is a first-and it's a flashing red light for our democracy," it continues. "I'm sounding the alarm and asking you to donate now so we can fight these charges and keep speaking truth to power."
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Investigators say McIver assaulted two federal agents at the Delaney Hall, according to the charging documents.
Prosecutors say one victim was an HSI agent, and the other was an ICE agent."
Law enforcement says McIver assaulted the agents when she "slammed her forearm into the body of a uniformed HSI agent. & reached out and tried to restrain the agent by forcibly grabbing him." Then, after Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested, McIver allegedly "pushed an ICE officer & used her forearms to forcibly strike the agent."
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According to the documents, McIver created a "human shield" and blocked agents from handcuffing Baraka after he ignored numerous warnings to leave the property and told him he would be arrested.
When the HSI agent told the mayor he was going to arrest him, McIver interjected, yelling, "Hell no! Hell no! Hell no!"
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The HSI agent then ordered the mayor to put his hands behind his back and displayed his handcuffs. So, McIver and other members of Congress "surrounded the Mayor and prevented HSI from handcuffing him and taking him into custody," according to prosecutors.
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In a statement after the charges were announced, McIver said that she is "thankful for the outpouring of support" she's gotten and that the "truth" will be "laid out clearly in court."
"Earlier this month, I joined my colleagues to inspect the treatment of ICE detainees at Delaney Hall in my district. We were fulfilling our lawful oversight responsibilities, as members of Congress have done many times before, and our visit should have been peaceful and short. Instead, ICE agents created an unnecessary and unsafe confrontation when they chose to arrest Mayor Baraka," she stated.
"The charges against me are purely political-they mischaracterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight," McIver added.
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Baraka had a federal trespassing charge against him that was dropped by acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba, but the mayor said he stands in solidarity with McIver.
"Representative LaMonica McIver assaulted, impeded, and interfered with law enforcement in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 111 (a)(1)," Habba said in a letter shared on X Monday. "That conduct cannot be overlooked by the chief federal law enforcement official in the State of New Jersey, and it is my Constitutional obligation to ensure that our federal law enforcement is protected when executing their duties."
Fox News Digital reached out to the McIver campaign for comments about the texts and both the campaign and her official office about the charging documents. The Democrat represents a deep blue district that includes Newark.
