Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday said the three Democrat lawmakers who scuffled with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in New Jersey last Friday committed felonies.
New Jersey Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Robert Menendez and LaMonica McIver were part of a mob that protested at the Delaney Hall detention center, a privately run facility under contract with ICE that houses non-citizens awaiting immigration proceedings or deportation.
The lefty protesters were demanding that the center be shut down, the New York Post reported.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) was arrested Friday afternoon and charged with trespassing after entering the facility and refusing to leave.
An ugly scuffle ensued as the lawmakers surrounded Baraka in an apparent attempt to shield the mayor from the ICE agents making the arrest.
“Don’t touch us!” McIver (in red) screamed over and over as officers tried to break through their blockade.
An online video shows the hefty McIver (in red), a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, throwing punches and shoving law enforcement officers as they tried to regain control.
Watson Coleman said the group of lawmakers had already visited the facility and come out to talk to the mayor when they were the ones allegedly assaulted by ICE agents.
“Since DHS has been lying about this, allow me to correct the record. This scuffle, during which an ICE agent physically shoved me, occurred AFTER we had entered the Delaney Hall premises,” she posted on X, Friday.
“We entered the facility, came BACK OUT to speak to the Mayor, and then ICE agents began shoving us. This is not how we entered the facility. We were escorted in by guards, because we have lawful oversight authority to be there,” she said.
”Tricia McLaughlin, the Department of Homeland Security’s assistant secretary for public affairs, said on CNN Friday that DHS has damning body-cam video of the scuffle that has not yet been released to the public.
“We actually have body camera footage of some of these members of Congress assaulting our ICE enforcement officers, including body slamming a female ICE officer,” McLaughlin said.
“These members of Congress, this mayor and these protesters are not above the law,” McLaughlin noted on “Fox & Friends,” Monday.
Noem hinted that more arrests are being considered during an appearance on Fox News, Tuesday night.
“This wasn’t oversight, this was committing felonies. This was going out and attacking people who stand up for the rule of law. And it was absolutely horrible,” Noem told the host Jesse Waters, noting that the acts of violence were committed in defense of violent criminals— rapists, murderers, and members of foreign terrorist organizations victimizing American communities.
“What are they trying to do? Get these people released back into the country so there can be more Laken Rileys?” she asked. “I just don’t understand what their point is. They’ve completely lost their minds.”
Noem said it was up to the Department of Justice to decide whether to press charges against the Democrat lawmakers.
Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) introduced a resolution Tuesday to strip the House members of all their committee assignments.
Rep. Marjory Taylor Greene went further Wednesday, saying McIver needs to be expelled.
Greene posted a photo on X showing McIver “couldn’t even look up as video played of her assaulting ICE officers” during a Homeland Security hearing Wednesday.
“She has zero respect for law enforcement or the rule of law, which is especially disgraceful as we honor law enforcement during Police Week,” the congresswoman added. “This isn’t just grounds for censure or removal from committees. LaMonica McIver should be EXPELLED from Congress.”
During the hearing Wednesday, Noem again argued that the Democrat lawmakers were not conducting oversight when they fought with ICE agents.
“What happened on May 9 at Delaney Hall was not oversight. It was a political stunt that put the safety of our law enforcement agents, our staff, and our detainees at risk,” she testified. “This behavior was lawless, and it was beneath this body. Members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), meanwhile, criticized the Trump administration over their handling of the incident, the Hill reported.
“If anyone’s breaking the law in this situation, it’s not members of Congress, it’s the Department of Homeland Security,” she said in an Instagram video posted Sunday.
“It’s people like Tom Homan and Secretary Kristi Noem,” she added.
“You lay a finger on someone, on Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman … or any of the representatives that were there, you lay a finger on them, we are going to have a problem,” Ocasio-Cortez added. “Because the people who are breaking the law are the people not abiding by it.”
Via Getty, the peaceful January 6 protester known as “the Lectern Guy,” shared his own thoughts on the fracas over the weekend.
“United States Representative LaMonica McIver has still not been arrested after assaulting multiple federal officers on video,” Getty posted on X Sunday. “Within 48 hours of smiling and waving in the Capitol on J6, I was in county jail isolation under 24-hour supervision, charged with 3 crimes, 2 were lies, the other debatable,” he continued.
“They put me in an ankle monitor and told me I was I was a danger to my community. Meanwhile, this animal is still collecting a paycheck from our tax dollars,” Getty added bitterly.
Fox News reported Wednesday that House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is opening an investigation into threats facing ICE facilities in the wake of the attack on Delaney Hall Detention Center.
Fox News Digital was told that Jordan is expected to schedule a hearing for next Tuesday, with former ICE and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials expected among the witness panel.
Republicans leaders, according to Fox, are still discussing what, if any, consequences could be in store for Reps. Watson Coleman, Menendez and McIver.
