Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) on Wednesday addressed fears stemming from federal charges tied to her visit to a New Jersey detention facility operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The lawmaker is facing 17 years for forcibly impeding and interfering with federal officers on three counts after she tussled with law enforcement while exiting the facility.
“I never thought I would be facing charges as a sitting congresswoman. It’s a scary situation too, because I’m thinking of my mom,” McIver said during a Wednesday interview on MSNBC.
“I’m thinking of my mom who was there with me, who’s like, stressed out about this,” she added, referring to her mother’s presence at legal proceedings.
McIver, a first term lawmaker, said her family is at the forefront of her mind amid the charges stemming from a congressional oversight visit.
“When they’re saying that you’re going to face 17 years in prison, I’m thinking about my daughter, who’s nine years old. I’m thinking about my husband, my family. And it’s like, oh, my God, this is awful,” she told anchor Jen Psaki.
“But at the same time, it’s like, I’m not going to stop doing my job because I know why I was there and I know why I’m being attacked. And so definitely just a mix of emotions during that period of time,” she added.
The lawmaker has pleaded not guilty to the charges and maintains that she will be proven innocent in court.
“Obviously, I pleaded not guilty because I’m not guilty and I’m looking forward to the next time being there and having the facts all laid out and really getting through this process…,” McIver said.
“But at the same time, this is stress. It’s expensive, right, because you have to fight this case, and it’s a legal case where you have to have a lawyer, an entire legal team to defend you. And so it’s just — it’s a lot and it’s unfortunate and it’s unnecessary,” she added.
Trump administration officials have slammed McIver for inappropriate behavior they say was caught on camera.
“We will not tolerate assault against our ICE law enforcement agents. By members of Congress or anyone else,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, wrote in a post on the social media platform X following the incident.
Her post shows a close up clip of McIver being swallowed by the crowd outside of the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark while elbowing law enforcement officers.
However, McIver pegged the charges brought by Alina Habba, interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey and President Trump’s former personal attorney, as a “politically motivated” attempt to silence Democrats.
“We cannot allow this administration to stop us as, you know, elected leaders, Democrats, especially, from doing their jobs,” she told Psaki.
The indictment against McIver alleges that she “slammed” her forearm into an agent and then tried to grab and restrain an agent, as reported by The Associated Press.
It goes on to say she placed her arms around Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D-N.J.) to prevent his arrest and says again that she slammed her forearm into and grabbed an agent, according to the outlet.
She is one of five Democrats either arrested, detained or charged by the Trump administration.
