Representative LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) said Tuesday on CNN’s “News Central” that the assault, resisting, and impeding law enforcement officers charges against her for a confrontation captured on camera at the Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Newark, NJ were “absurd.”
McIver said, “I think the charges are absurd. You know, it’s ridiculous. I was there to do my job along with my other colleagues. We have done this before. This is our obligation to do. It’s in our job description to have oversight over facility. The entire situation was escalated by ICE. They caused the confrontation. Homeland came and caused this chaos that we see. It was a very tense situation.”
She continued, “It could have easily not happened. They had every opportunity to not allow this to happen. It was very unnecessary and it just once again, we were there to do our jobs. And, you know, if I’m going to be charged with a crime for doing my job, it just speaks to where we’re headed in this country and what we’re dealing with as leaders and as as Congress members here in this country.”
McIver added, “The Justice Department and Alina Habba wanted me to admit to doing something that I did not do, and I was not going to do that. Once again, I came there to do my job and conduct an oversight visit, and they wanted me to say something differently. And I’m not doing that. I’m not going to roll over and stop doing my job.”
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