U.S. District Judge Jamel Semper has rejected Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-Newark)’s lone outstanding effort to dismiss assault charges against her, nearly two months after he denied a broad set of motions from McIver’s legal team but left one particular count unresolved.
That one count relates to whether or not McIver’s alleged assault of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer outside the gates of the Delaney Hall detention facility constituted official legislative conduct, which is protected by the Constitution. In his November ruling, Semper wrote that there was still more evidence that he needed to consider before making a determination on that count.
After reviewing more body camera footage and receiving supplemental briefs from both sides, Semper at last denied McIver’s motion yesterday evening. Footage provided to the court on November 17, Semper said, shows McIver initiating contact with the ICE officer in question – contradicting a core part of her argument, which was that the ICE officer was preventing her from re-entering Delaney Hall and resuming her oversight tour.
“While Defendant argues that it was ‘V-2 [an ICE deportation officer] who initiated contact with Congresswoman McIver as she reached the facility’s entrance, driving his shoulder into the Congresswoman’s chest to block her progress’ … video footage shows that V-2 was not facing Defendant or purposely impeding her when the physical contact occurred,” Semper wrote.
McIver has long held that the charges against her are politically motivated, and said in a statement last night that she continues to believe she is in the right.
“Legislative oversight of an ICE detention facility like Delaney Hall can’t be done from behind a desk – it is my responsibility to visit it, inspect it, and hold those running it accountable for any abuses,” McIver said. “I’m disappointed by today’s ruling, and remain very concerned about the Trump administration’s efforts to criminalize legislative oversight and operate in the shadows.”
Shortly before the new year, McIver filed a notice of appeal regarding Semper’s prior denial of her motions, sending the matter up to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Semper’s additional decision could be folded into that same appeal, but a McIver spokesperson said no decision has yet been made on whether to do so.
McIver’s initial package of motions covered a broad range of arguments, positing that the Trump administration’s case against her – led at the time by then-acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, who recently had her own authority revoked by a federal appellate panel – represented vindictive and selective prosecution and pertained to official legislative acts that are safeguarded by the Constitution’s Speech or Debate clause.
Semper took issue with each one of those arguments in November, writing that there is not sufficient evidence to prove vindictive or politically motivated intent, and that McIver’s alleged conduct “exceed[ed] the safe harbor of legislative immunity.”
The case was originally set to go to trial in November, but that schedule has long since been obliterated; it’s not yet clear what the timeline for the Third Circuit appeal will be.
