A New Jersey Democrat arrested last year on charges of assaulting a federal officer is learning that her status as a member of Congress is not a license to commit crimes.
A federal appeals court has handed prosecutors a significant victory in the criminal case against Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver, ruling that two of the three federal charges against her can move forward.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled 2-1 Wednesday that the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause does not protect McIver from prosecution for the specific physical conduct alleged in the case.
McIver was charged last June following a confrontation with federal officers outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 9, 2025.
The Speech or Debate Clause generally protects members of Congress from being questioned or prosecuted over legitimate legislative activities, including certain congressional investigations and oversight work.
The protection is intended to preserve the independence of Congress from interference by the executive and judicial branches.
McIver argued that she was at Delaney Hall as part of an authorized congressional oversight visit and that prosecuting her over the confrontation violated both the Speech or Debate Clause and constitutional separation-of-powers principles.
The appeals court’s majority rejected that argument as it applied to two of the charges.
Judge Cindy Chung, joined by Judge Stephanos Bibas, concluded that the specific physical actions alleged in Counts One and Two were “unambiguously non-legislative” and therefore fell outside the constitutional protection afforded to lawmakers.
Those counts accuse McIver of physically confronting federal officers during the chaotic encounter, including allegedly slamming her forearm into one officer and grabbing him.
Prosecutors also allege that McIver used her forearms to strike another officer while attempting to push past him.
The ruling does not determine whether McIver committed the alleged acts. Instead, it allows prosecutors to proceed with two charges and attempt to prove their allegations in court.
🚨 BREAKING: A federal appeals court has REJECTED Democrat Rep. LaMonica McIver's immunity defense after she ASSAULTED ICE agents in Newark, 2-1
FAFO!🔥
Video shows McIver, in a red jacket, committing FEDERAL FELONIES by striking MULTIPLE ICE agents during a fit of entitled… pic.twitter.com/TZo5ELQ4Tt
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 26, 2026
The appeals court did hand McIver a partial victory involving the third and broader charge against her.
The panel vacated the district court’s ruling on Count Three, which generally accuses McIver of interfering with federal officers, and returned the issue to the trial court for additional consideration.
Unlike the first two counts, Count Three does not focus on a single, clearly defined physical act. The appeals court said the trial judge must determine whether any of the conduct covered by that charge constituted protected legislative activity and, if so, whether that protected conduct can be separated from the remaining allegations.
The panel also dismissed McIver’s claims that she was the target of selective or vindictive prosecution, concluding that the appeals court lacked jurisdiction to consider those arguments at this stage of the proceedings.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Ambro, a Clinton nominee, partially dissented from the majority’s decision.
Ambro argued that the conduct underlying Count Two could potentially be interpreted as incidental physical contact that occurred while McIver was attempting to re-enter the detention facility to continue what she maintains was an authorized congressional inspection.
The ruling sends the case back to the lower court, where prosecutors can continue pursuing Counts One and Two while the scope and viability of Count Three receive further review.
The charges against McIver stem from a May 2025 confrontation at Delaney Hall, a privately operated immigration detention facility in Newark used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
McIver, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, arrived at the facility with fellow Democratic New Jersey Reps. Rob Menendez and Bonnie Watson Coleman for an unannounced congressional inspection.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka subsequently arrived at the facility but was denied entry, setting the stage for the confrontation that ultimately resulted in McIver’s indictment.
According to the June 10, 2025, indictment, McIver positioned herself between Baraka and a Homeland Security Investigations special agent as federal officers moved to arrest the mayor outside the facility’s gate.
Prosecutors allege McIver slammed her forearm into the agent and grabbed him during the encounter.
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