Lawyers for US Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) claimed she was protected by free speech when she was arrested for allegedly assaulting cops at an anti-ICE protest — and “she wouldn’t have drawn a flagrant foul in the Knicks-Spurs game” for the move anyway.
The NJ congresswoman is facing up to 17 years behind bars for the May 2025 tussle outside Garden State ICE facility Delaney Hall, in which she allegedly “slammed” her forearm into an agent and tried to grab him as Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested for a since-dropped trespassing charge.
McIver and her lawyers were in a federal appeals court in Delaware Wednesday arguing the case should be tossed out against her because she’s protected by free speech and immunity and because she’s being politically targeted by the Trump administration, according to a report by Politico.
The rep’s defense attorney Paul Fishman argued before the three-judge appeals panel that the charges should be dismissed against her because members of Congress benefit from immunity similar to the immunity that police officers have.
