NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A federal judge overseeing the Trump administration’s prosecution of U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver on charges that she assaulted and impeded immigration agents outside a New Jersey detention center told the government to remove social media posts he called “harmful” to the congresswoman.
District Judge Jamel Semper on Tuesday heard pretrial arguments in the case brought by Republican President Donald Trump’s U.S. Justice Department against the Democratic congresswoman who represents Newark, the state’s largest city. Semper did not issue a ruling from the court, but told government lawyers that nine social media posts should be removed.
The posts, which came from the Department of Homeland Security’s May.
“It’s not a fact,” Semper said. “The detrimental nature of this is evident.”
A message was sent Tuesday requesting a response from Homeland Security.
McIver’s lawyers have argued that the department’s publications could jeopardize his chances for a fair trial.
The judge also told the government to turn over additional video footage to McIver after his attorneys told the court they had not received footage they knew existed but was not turned over.
He also said he would take time to review a motion by McIver’s attorneys to dismiss the case against him based on his right as a member of Congress to oversee the federal government.
McIver, a Democrat, was charged by acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, a Republican appointee of President Donald Trump, following a May 9 visit to Delaney Hall. Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses the 1,000-bed private facility as a detention center.
She has pleaded not guilty.
“This process has not stopped me from doing my job,” McIver said outside court Tuesday.
In June she was formally charged with three counts of assault, resisting, impeding and interfering with federal officials. Two of the charges carry a maximum penalty of up to eight years in prison. The third is a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of one year in prison.
Among those at McIver’s side Tuesday in court were Democratic Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rob Menendez and Nellie Pou, along with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.
Baraka was arrested on a criminal trespass charge that was later dropped and is suing Habba for what he called malicious prosecution.
Habba’s tenure as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey is being challenged in court, and appeals judges heard arguments in that case the day before McIver was scheduled to appear in court.
A nearly two-minute video clip released by the Department of Homeland Security shows McIver at the facility inside a chain-link fence just before Baraka’s arrest on the other side of the barrier, where other people were protesting. McIver and the uniformed officers walk through the door and she joins others shouting that they should surround the mayor.
The video shows McIver in a very tight group of people and officers. At one point, his left elbow and then his right elbow pushed an officer wearing a dark face covering and an olive green uniform emblazoned with the word “Police.”
It is unclear from police body camera video whether the contact was intentional, incidental or the result of shoving at the chaotic scene.
The government complaint alleges that she “struck” an officer with her forearm and then tried to restrain him by grabbing him.
The indictment also says she put her arms around the mayor to try to stop his arrest and says again that she struck with her forearm and grabbed an officer.
Watson Coleman and Menendez were with McIver at the detention center that day and have disputed the charges.
Members of Congress are legally allowed to enter federal immigration facilities as part of their oversight powers, even without prior notice. Congress passed a 2019 appropriations bill detailing that authority.
McIver first came to Congress in September in a special election after the death of Rep. Donald Payne Jr. left a vacancy in the 10th District. She was then elected to a full term in November.