Overview
- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled on Wednesday that two felony assault counts alleging Rep. LaMonica McIver struck and grabbed ICE agents at Delaney Hall are not protected by the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause and may move forward.
- The panel returned a third count to the district court for additional fact-finding because the indictment did not give enough detail to decide whether that allegation involved official legislative activity.
- Judge Thomas Ambro issued a partial dissent urging the court to allow discovery into whether the prosecution was politically motivated and saying one of McIver’s contacts with an agent could be incidental to an authorized inspection.
- McIver has pleaded not guilty, her lawyers say they will pursue legal options, and she faces up to 17 years if convicted on all counts while continuing to argue the case chills congressional oversight.
- The case stems from a May 2025 oversight visit to the recently reopened Delaney Hall ICE facility in Newark and raises broader separation-of-powers questions because the charges were announced by an acting U.S. attorney whose appointment was later legally questioned.