A federal judge on Thursday denied a motion to dismiss assault charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ), allowing her prosecution to proceed closer to trial. U.S. District Judge Jamel Semper ruled that the defendant failed to provide clear evidence of discriminatory effect in the charges, stating her claims of selective enforcement and prosecution must fail.
Semper’s 41-page ruling largely rejected McIver’s arguments that she is immune under the Constitution’s Speech and Debate Clause, which protects lawmakers for actions taken as part of their legislative activities. The judge noted he would address one of the three counts later.
“I am disappointed in today’s decision,” McIver said in a statement. “From the beginning, this case has been about trying to intimidate me, stop me from doing oversight, and keep me from doing my job. It will not work.”
She added, “I will keep standing up to protect people, and the court’s denial of my motions does not change that fact. I am not in this fight only for myself, and I am concerned that this decision will simply embolden the administration. This case is not over. I am committed to protecting my community, our people, and our country.”
Semper noted that the defendant’s active participation in the alleged conduct removed her acts from the safe harbor of mere oversight, stating she lawfully or unlawfully engaged in conduct unrelated to her oversight responsibilities and congressional duties.
McIver is accused in a three-count indictment of slamming a federal agent with her forearm, “forcibly” grabbing him and using her forearms to strike another agent. Allegations of physical violence by a sitting member of Congress are rare.
The alleged assaults occurred during a 68-second span in the midst of a three-hour oversight visit to the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, New Jersey, when McIver and fellow Democratic Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez were part of a chaotic scene as immigration agents moved to arrest city Mayor Ras Baraka on a trespassing charge that was later dropped.
Her attorney, Paul Fishman, said McIver and her legal team are “evaluating next steps” in response to legal decisions they believe “are wrong.”