Exclusive | alina habba defends felony charges against rep. Lamonica mciver over chaotic newark ice detention center protest: ‘nothing to do with congressional oversight’

Acting New Jersey US Attorney Alina Habba is defending filing felony charges against lefty New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver for the fracas at a Newark ICE detention center — telling The Post

that McIver’s alleged assault of federal agents was beyond the pale. “This has nothing to do with congressional oversight, and it has nothing to do with politics. It’s about respecting those

who risk their lives to keep us safe,” said Habba, who was formerly President Trump’s personal lawyer. “This is not political, it’s the law. I didn’t create the law, my job is to enforce

it.” She added that the charges show that her office is committed to supporting the federal agents who say McIver assaulted them. EXPLORE MORE “These charges make one thing abundantly clear:

this administration will never back down from supporting law enforcement,” Habba said. “Our commitment is resolute — we back the blue. I fully support congressional oversight, but I will

never support violence or interfering with law enforcement.” McIver “slammed her forearm into the body” of one Homeland Security agent and “forcibly struck” an ICE agent during a protest at

an ICE detention facility in Newark, according to the federal criminal complaint against her. The two-count felony charges, filed Monday in federal court in New Jersey, accuse McIver, 38, of

using force to interfere with federal agents earlier this month during a protest that was joined by several other Democratic lawmakers. She faces up to eight years in prison if convicted of

the charges. McIver has argued that she was using congressional oversight to enter the facility — but Habba, who announced the charges on Monday, said “no one is above the law” when it

comes to assaulting cops. McIver, who has represented New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District since last September, slammed the charges as “purely political” and blamed the ICE agents at

the scene for escalating the confrontation. “It was very unnecessary,” she told CNN Tuesday, calling the charges “absurd” as she insisted she was “there to do my job.” “If I’m going to be

charged with a crime for doing my job, it really speaks to where we’re headed in this country.” She said the charges “mischaracterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and

deter legislative oversight,” the congresswoman said in a statement. “This administration will never stop me from working for the people in our district and standing up for what is right.

But Habba said she only filed charges after “efforts to resolve the matter without filing charges failed.” McIver told CNN that she did not negotiate a plea deal with the DOJ and Habba

because they “wanted me to admit to doing something that I did not do, and I was not going to do that.” A source familiar with the investigation said hours of yet-to-be-released bodycam

footage shows that McIver was “insanely aggressive, elbowing, shoving, impeding” federal agents. “She didn’t own what she did,” according to the source. Investigators used bodycam footage,

as well as aerial camera stills to show McIver’s actions during the melee. They say the images offer proof that she assaulted the federal officers and tried to stop them from arresting

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka at the protest. McIver allegedly shouted “Hell no! Hell no! Hell no!” as they tried to arrest Baraka, who is a top candidate for New Jersey governor in June’s

Democratic primary. “McIver slammed her forearm into the body of … a uniformed HSI agent. She also reached out and tried to restrain [the agent] by forcibly grabbing him,” the complaint

details. After the mayor was arrested, she allegedly “forcibly struck” an ICE agent. Baraka, as well as Reps. Robert Menendez Jr. (D-NJ) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) were among those who

attempted to barge into the Delaney Hall Detention Center on May 9, demanding the facility’s closure. Baraka was arrested at the scene for trespassing and later released, with charges

against him dismissed this week. McIver didn’t take the chance to avoid charges, the source said, while Baraka “understood the severity of what was going on.”