A federal judge who was appointed to the bench by former President Joe Biden has sided with the Trump administration by refusing to toss out a case against a House Democrat who is accused of assaulting federal immigration officers. Two out of three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled not to dismiss the Justice Department’s case against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ).
The case stems from a 2025 incident at the Delaney Hall detention center where an anti-ICE protest quickly fell into chaos with a physical standoff between federal lawmakers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. During the altercation, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested. McIver was later charged with three counts, including assaulting and impeding federal officers.
McIver tried to get the case dismissed, stating that she is immune from prosecution because her actions at the facility during the protest were part of her official duties as a member of Congress. She then slammed the DOJ by accusing them of unfairly picking on her specifically, with her office referring to the charges as “vindictive.”
In a 2-1 decision made by Biden-appointed Judge Cindy Chung and Trump-appointed Judge Stephanos Bibas, it was made clear that McIver’s argument of legislative immunity would not stand for two out of the three counts brought against her, while the third count was sent back to a lower court for additional review, according to a report from Fox News.
Court documents state that McIver allegedly “slammed her forearm” into a federal officer who was attempting to arrest Mayor Baraka. The federal court was in full agreement with the lower court that the New Jersey Democrat’s “alleged intervention into the Mayor’s questionable arrest had no cognizable connection to any legislative function” protected by the Constitution.
The second count alleged that McIver then utilized both of her forearms to “strike [an officer] as she returned inside of the secured area of Delaney Hall.” Both judges then wrote, “Like the acts charged in Count One, the acts of pushing past and forcibly striking someone are unambiguously non-legislative: they are not integral to the legislative process.”
Judge Thomas Ambro penned a dissent, writing, “When an Executive Branch official prevents a Member from entering a DHS facility, she is denied effective access to an oversight inspection.” McIver was not pleased to hear of the ruling, putting out a statement addressing the matter, writing that “the court got it wrong.”
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“Today’s decision chills that authority and emboldens the Trump administration to continue persecuting our most vulnerable communities, those who try to defend them, and anyone who dares hold the president or his lackeys accountable. I will not fold to this administration. We are exploring every possible option. The administration will not stop me from doing my job or standing for what is right. This is not over,” McIver went on to say.
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