A grand jury indicted Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) on a trio of charges, acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba said Tuesday.
The indictment continues the Trump administration’s legal attacks against opponents of its immigration policies. And it comes as the administration has sent troops into Los Angeles over immigration protests.
The indictment is a required step for prosecutors to keep pressing felony charges announced last month following a scuffle outside an immigration detention facility in Newark involving McIver, two other Democratic members of the New Jersey congressional delegation, the city’s mayor and a group of federal law enforcement agents. The three counts, which allege McIver forcibly interfered with law enforcement officials, come with a maximum sentence of 17 years in prison.
“As I have stated in the past, it is my Constitutional obligation as the Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officer for New Jersey to ensure that our federal partners are protected when executing their duties,” Habba said in a social media post. “While people are free to express their views for or against particular policies, they must not do so in a manner that endangers law enforcement and the communities those officers serve.”