A federal judge has ruled that New Jersey Rep. LaMonica Mclver’s assault cases stemming from an incident earlier this year at a Newark immigration facility that resulted in the arrest of Mayor Ras Baraka will proceed. The charges against McIver of assaulting a federal agent at Delany Hall will stand despite her prior attempts to have the charges dismissed, because U.S. District Court Judge Jamel K. Semper wrote in a 41-page ruling that she is not the victim of selective prosecution. McIver was accused of grabbing federal agents as they arrested Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark. The scene was caught on different cameras by witnesses and agents.
“The charges against me are purely political — they mischaracterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight,” Mclver wrote in a statement in May after being charged. McIver, who represents New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District, which includes Newark, was at Delaney Hall to inspect the facility when federal agents were in the process of arresting Baraka. When she went to the jail’s parking lot, a number of others were there protesting the arrest. Federal prosecutors claim that she attempted to interfere with the arrest. Her attorneys say she was simply emphasizing her oversight of the facility, which was in her district, but Semper balked at that, saying McIver toured the jail after Baraka was arrested, according to the New Jersey Monitor. Baraka was arrested that day on trespassing charges, but was released after a few hours and is currently suing the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, claiming false arrest.
McIver tried to file a motion to dismiss under two rationales. First, she believed the Trump administration engaged in selective prosecution. Second, she argued that she was protected under the Debate Clause, which doesn’t allow prosecuting members of Congress. After a court hearing, Mclver said, “It’s clear why this is happening. It’s because I was doing my job and I will continue to do so. I’m not going to stop holding this administration accountable.”
Mclver’s attorneys also pointed to January 6, 2021, rioters as an example of a similar situation, where defendants were treated more sympathetically by the administration, the New Jersey Globe reported.
Semper disagreed with the claim and stated that the rioters were in a completely different situation than Mclver and cannot be compared.
her attorneys arguments for dismissal were crappy.
this is something for a jury to consider and spit upon.