Author Debra Heine, author of American Greatness,
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday that three Democratic lawmakers who fought with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in New Jersey last Friday committed serious crimes.
New Jersey House members Bonnie Watson Coleman, Robert Menendez and LaMonica McIver were part of a crowd protesting at the Delaney Hall detention center, a privately owned facility under contract with ICE that houses non-citizens awaiting immigration proceedings or deportation.
According to the New York Post, left-wing protesters demanded the center be closed.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (Democrat) was arrested Friday afternoon and charged with trespassing after he entered an establishment and refused to leave.
An ugly scuffle ensued as lawmakers surrounded Baraka, apparently trying to protect the mayor from ICE agents conducting the arrest.
“Don’t touch us!” McIver (in red) shouted over and over again as the police tried to break through their blockade.
Online video shows the burly McIver (in red), a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, punching and shoving law enforcement officers as they tried to regain control.
Watson Coleman said a group of lawmakers had already visited the facility and had come to speak with the mayor when ICE agents allegedly attacked them.
“Since the Department of Homeland Security has lied about this, let me make a correction. This scuffle, in which an ICE agent physically pushed me, occurred AFTER we entered the Delaney Hall grounds,” he posted on X on Friday.
“We entered the facility, came BACK OUT to talk to the mayor, and then the ICE agents started pushing us. We didn’t enter the facility like that. We were escorted by guards because we have a legal right to be there,” he said.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, told CNN on Friday that the Department of Homeland Security has damning body camera 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 law enforcement officers, including them physically striking a female ICE officer,” McLaughlin said.
“These members of Congress, this mayor and these protesters are not above the law,” McLaughlin said on “Fox & Friends” on Monday.
Noem hinted in an appearance on Fox News Tuesday night that more arrests were being considered.
“This was not recklessness, this was the commission of serious crimes. This was going out and attacking people who stand for the rule of law. And it was absolutely horrific,” Noem told host Jesse Waters, noting that the acts of violence were committed to protect violent criminals — rapists, murderers, and members of foreign terrorist organizations who have victimized American communities.
“What are they trying to do? Send these people back to the country so there are more Laken Rileys?” he asked. “I just don’t understand what their point is. They’ve gone completely crazy.”
Noem said it was up to the Justice Department to decide whether to file charges against Democratic lawmakers.
Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) introduced a resolution Tuesday that would strip House members of all their committee duties.
House of Representatives member Marjory Taylor Greene went even further on Wednesday, saying McIver should be thrown out.
Greene posted a photo of X showing McIver “not even able to look up when the video of him being attacked by ICE officers was played” at a homeland security hearing on Wednesday.
“She has no respect for law enforcement or the rule of law, which is especially shameful as we honor law enforcement during Police Week,” the congressman added. “This is not just grounds for censure or removal from committees. LaMonica McIver should be EXPELLED from Congress.”
At a hearing on Wednesday, Noem again argued that Democratic lawmakers were not exercising oversight by sparring with ICE agents.
“What happened at Delaney Hall on May 9th was not an oversight. It was a political stunt that jeopardized the safety of our law enforcement officers, staff, and inmates,” he admitted. “This behavior was unlawful and beyond the authority of this body. Members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) criticized the Trump administration for its handling of the incident, The Hill reported.
“If anyone is breaking the law in this situation, it’s not members of Congress, it’s the Department of Homeland Security,” he said in an Instagram video posted Sunday.
“These are people like Tom Homan and Secretary Kristi Noem,” he added.
“If you point the finger at anyone, Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman … or any representative who is here, you point the finger at them and we have a problem,” Ocasio-Cortez added. “Because the people who break the law are the people who don’t follow it.”
Via Getty, a peaceful January 6 protester known by the nickname “Remote Control Man” shared his thoughts on the weekend brawl.
“United States Representative LaMonica McIver has still not been arrested after she was caught on video attacking multiple federal officials,” Getty posted on X on Sunday. “Within 48 hours of smiling and waving at the Capitol on J6 Street, I was in solitary confinement in the county jail under 24-hour supervision, charged with three felonies, two of which were false and the third was moot,” she continued.
“They put an ankle monitor on me and said I was a danger to my community. Meanwhile, this animal is still getting paid with our tax dollars,” Getty added bitterly.
Fox News reported Wednesday that House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is launching an investigation into threats to ICE facilities following the Delaney Hall detention center attack.
Fox News Digital was told that Jordan is expected to schedule a hearing for next Tuesday, and former ICE and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials are expected to be among the witnesses.
According to Fox, Republican leaders are still discussing what, if any, consequences may lie ahead for House members Watson Coleman, Menendez, and McIver.
