Politics & Government
U.S. Rep. McIver Wants Judge To Threaten Trump Admin With Sanctions
The three-count indictment against McIver alleges she assaulted federal officers during a scuffle outside Delaney Hall.
November 14, 2025
Attorneys for Rep. LaMonica McIver asked a federal judge to threaten sanctions to block the Trump administration from making any more statements about McIver that could affect her upcoming trial.
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McIver’s filing, made on Thursday, is the latest salvo in a battle over how U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials have described the conduct of three New Jersey congress members during an unannounced inspection of Delaney Hall, an immigrant detention facility in Newark, in May. McIver (D-10) is accused of assaulting federal agents during that visit.
“DHS has slow-walked the removal of clearly prejudicial statements, issued new ones, and continued to maintain others on its website,” McIver attorney Lee Cortes said, adding that absent a court order McIver must continue playing whack-a-mole over federal officials’ statements about her.
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U.S. District Court Judge Jamel Semper last month ordered the administration to remove a series of posts made to the Department of Homeland Security’s X account that said McIver and Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12) and Rob Menendez (D-08) stormed the facility during their May visit.
Body camera and other surveillance footage released in discovery show Delaney Hall officials let the House representatives into the facility for an inspection.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (in tan coat) and Reps. LaMonica McIver and Rob Menendez enter a gate to visit Delaney Hall in Newark on May 9, 2025.
The three-count indictment against McIver alleges she assaulted federal officers during a scuffle outside Delaney Hall. McIver has pleaded not guilty.
McIver argues the charges are politically motivated and the prosecution is selective. The court heard arguments over McIver’s motions to dismiss the case on those grounds last month, though Semper has yet to issue a ruling.
McIver’s Thursday letter notes some prejudicial statements about her remain online despite Semper’s order that they be removed, including a May Department of Homeland Security press release that accuses McIver and others of “storming Delaney Hall” and a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement social media post that says McIver “attacked ICE officers.”
The letter also notes that Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman, is quoted in an October Politico article saying Democrats are no longer able to “storm ICE facilities.”
McIver’s attorneys argue the statements are part of a pattern meant to prevent fair trials in criminal cases. U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has told Semper his office has had trouble getting the Department of Homeland Security to remove posts deemed prejudicial to McIver.
At least one judge has issued an order that threatened sanctions on similar grounds. Last week, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw filed an order warning federal officials could face sanctions if they continue to make prejudicial statements about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who administration officials have repeatedly claimed is an MS-13 gang member.
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