In May, Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) allegedly impeded law enforcement officers when they were trying to arrest Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka for trespassing outside of an immigration detention facility.
McIver was later indicted for assault and for impeding federal agents.
Her attorney filed a motion to have the case dropped based on immunity-related arguments, but McIver's attempt was just denied.
The indictment was first announced last summer, and McIver seemed to think that her status as a member of Congress gave her a full immunity card.
She was clearly impeding officers during the incident in question, and some might say that she went so far as to give one agent a forearm shiver.
McIver's legal team insisted that she had done nothing wrong, even going so far as to state, “The indictment is skeletal, exaggerated, omits context, and the video evidence squarely contradicts much of it.”
Underscoring my point above that McIver thought her status as a congresswoman gave her special privileges, the filing stated, “The members repeatedly asserted their federal status and instructed the agents not to touch them. Agents nevertheless pressed in on the members as the crowd formed more tightly around them.”
When the indictment against her was first announced, McIver stated, “The facts of this case will prove I was simply doing my job and will expose these proceedings for what they are: a brazen attempt at political intimidation.”
She continued, “This indictment is no more justified than the original charges, and is an effort by Trump’s administration to dodge accountability for the chaos ICE caused and scare me out of doing the work I was elected to do. But it won’t work—I will not be intimidated.”
The lawmaker concluded, “The facts are on our side, I will be entering a plea of not guilty, I’m grateful for the support of my community, and I look forward to my day in court.”
I don’t know where politicians get the idea that once they identify themselves, they have the right to defy law enforcement, but that is not how it works. You still have to abide by the law.
Word just came down that McIver’s motion to dismiss was denied because, contrary to her claims, it was not legislative activity at issue, and therefore immunity does not apply.
U.S. District Judge Jamel Semper, a Joe Biden appointee, ruled, “The video evidence provided to the Court reveals that in her brief interaction with V-2 (the officer), Defendant was not engaging in cognizable legislative activity.”
The ruling continued, “The Court cannot find that Defendant’s alleged conduct was legislative in nature. When Defendant encountered V-2, and in the few seconds that followed, she was not engaging in ‘factfinding, information gathering, [or] investigative activities[.]’ Her conduct was not tied to potential legislation or any other policy-making purpose. The physical contact she engaged in outside the facility lacked a legislative prerogative.”
That is not a good sign for McIver, as the judge clearly is not going to allow her to use her position to gain favor with the court. Things just got very real for the congresswoman, who now stands a very good chance of being convicted for having allegedly assaulted a federal agent. If found guilty on all accounts, she is facing up to 17 years in prison. Realistically, she will still get off with a slap on the wrist, but I would imagine things are a bit more tense at the McIver household today.
