New Jersey Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver was indicted by a federal grand jury for her role in a violent scuffle outside an ICE facility last month.
The lawmaker is facing 17 years in prison if convicted on the charges of "forcibly impeding and interfering" with ICE agents.
The Democrat has denied all wrongdoing. She claims she was conducting legitimate oversight, and her party has claimed the charges are politically motivated.
McIver was one in a group of three House Democrats who were present during a chaotic confrontation at Delaney Hall in Newark on May 9.
The indictment says McIver and Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) were performing congressional oversight that coincided with an immigration protest.
The charges against McIver revolve around her alleged efforts to forcefully block the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D), who was told to leave the facility but refused, and who later had trespassing charges dropped. McIver made two separate attempts to block the mayor's arrest, the indictment says.
"After the Mayor was escorted outside the secured area, law enforcement officers made a second attempt to arrest him. At this time, someone in the crowd yelled 'circle the mayor.' McIver then faced the Mayor and placed her arms around him in an effort to prevent HSI from completing the arrest," the DOJ said.
"During her continued attempts to thwart the arrest, McIver slammed her forearm into the body of one law enforcement officer and also reached out and tried to restrain that officer by forcibly grabbing him. McIver also used each of her forearms to forcibly strike a second officer."
The interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Alina Habba, issued a statement on the charges.
"As I have stated in the past, it is my Constitutional obligation as the Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officer for New Jersey to ensure that our federal partners are protected when executing their duties,” Habba said in a statement.
“While people are free to express their views for or against particular policies, they must not do so in a manner that endangers law enforcement and the communities those officers serve,” Habba said.
McIver has insisted she did nothing wrong, casting blame on ICE for instigating the confrontation. She dismissed the case as "an effort by Trump's administration to dodge accountability for the chaos ICE caused".
"The facts will prove I was simply doing my job", she added.
