Appeals court denies New Jersey congresswoman's effort to dismiss ICE assault charges

A federal appeals panel ruled 2-1 that New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver cannot invoke the speech-or-debate clause to avoid assault charges related to a June altercation outside the Delaney Hall ICE facility. The majority concluded the brief encounter fell outside the scope of legislative activity, whereas Judge Thomas L. Ambro dissented. The Department of Justice filed the charges after a protest that included the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.

McIver has called the prosecution politically motivated and warned it could chill lawmakers' oversight of immigration enforcement. A bipartisan group of twenty former members of Congress, many Republicans, argued the case threatens constitutional checks and balances. The ruling allows the case to proceed toward trial.