Democratic Congresswoman Fundraises Off Her Arrest for Assaulting Officer at ICE Facility

Congresswoman LaMonica McIver is using her assault case connected to a scuffle outside an ICE detention facility in New Jersey to fundraise.The Department of Justice charged Ms. McIver with assaulting a federal law enforcement officer during a chaotic scene outside Delaney Hall at Newark on May 9. The Department of Homeland Security released a video from the incident, which it said showed Ms. McIver “assaulting an ICE agent.”The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, said the charges came after a “thorough review” of the video and added that “no one is above the law.” Ms. McIver made her first appearance in federal court Wednesday in connection with the case. She appeared via video after the judge approved a request from Ms. McIver’s legal team because Congress is in session, NJ.com reported.U.S. District Court Judge Stacey Adams released Ms. McIver with conditions that restrict her international travel. The judge says Ms. McIver will have to alert the court if she wants to travel for vacation. She was also ordered to surrender any firearms within 72 hours.Ms. McIver has called the charges “purely political,” and ahead of the hearing text messages featuring her photo are asking for donations in the face of “political intimidation by the Trump admin.” The messages claim donating would “send a message that Democrats will not tolerate authoritarian behavior.”Another donation page on the ActBlue platform, used by Democrats to fundraise, claims Ms. McIver is “being targeted by the Trump administration.” It asks for donations of $10 to $1,000.When questioned by a Fox News crew about fundraising off of the incident, Ms. McIver responded, “No comment,” before laughing and saying, “Have a wonderful day.” Ms. McIver faces two counts of assaulting, resisting, and impeding an officer. She could face up to eight years in prison on each charge. Ms. McIver has denied the charges and claims she rejected a plea deal in the case. “Well, the justice department and Alina Habba wanted me to admit to doing something that I did not do, and I was not going to do that, once again,” she said during an appearance on CNN Tuesday. “I’m not going to roll over and stop doing my job because they don’t want me to.”The incident that led to the charges began when the Democratic mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, and Democratic lawmakers tried to visit the detention center, which is privately operated, as they said it was not up to date on permits. Mr. Baraka entered the gate to the facility and was arrested for trespassing. Ms. McIver and Congresswoman Watson Coleman were seen trying to shield Mr. Baraka as agents tried to arrest him, which resulted in the allegations of assault.Mr. Baraka was charged with misdemeanor trespassing but the acting United States attorney for the district of New Jersey, Alina Habba, said she was dropping the charges against Mr. Baraka “for the sake of moving forward.”Ms. McIver is due back in court on June 11. She has to show up in person for that hearing.

Democratic Congresswoman Fundraises Off Her Arrest for Assaulting Officer at ICE Facility

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