Moments ago, Congresswoman LaMonica McIver (D-10) pleaded not guilty to charges brought against her by the Trump administration in connection with the performance of her legally permitted oversight duties at an ICE facility in her district. Having entered her plea at arraignment, a spokesperson for the Congresswoman issued the following statement:

“Rep. McIver has confidently entered her official plea: not guilty. She is crystal clear that she will not back down as leaders across this country are targeted for speaking up,” said Hanna Rumsey, a spokesperson for Rep. McIver. “These charges have always been about politics and Rep. McIver will not be deterred from doing the work the people of New Jersey elected her to do. The Congresswoman will not fold.”

See McIver’s previous statement on her charges here.

Said Paul J. Fishman, Partner, Arnold & Porter, counsel for Congresswoman LaMonica McIver:

"Congresswoman McIver pleaded not guilty because she is not guilty. On May 9, she was at Delaney Hall to carry out her responsibilities as Member of Congress. She was there to inspect an ICE detention facility and to see for herself whether the Trump administration is obeying the laws and Constitution of the United States. ICE responded by creating a risky and dangerous situation, and now the Justice Department is doubling down by trying to punish the Congresswoman for doing her job. We are eager to challenge this case on multiple grounds and we are confident that the legal process will ultimately vindicate the Congresswoman."

Today, after pleading not guilty to charges brought against her, Congresswoman LaMonica McIver (NJ-10) made the following statement to supporters outside of the federal courthouse in Newark:

“First of all, good morning to each and every one of you. I want to thank you all for being here. As Paul just mentioned, I just left out of court and pleaded not guilty—because I'm not guilty, and we will fight this.

“At the end of the day, this is all about political intimidation. The Trump administration and his, you know, him and his colleagues or cronies—whatever you want to call them—have weaponized the federal government. They’ve weaponized the Department of Justice. And anybody who stands up to them, anyone who criticizes them, anyone who fights back against them, finds themselves in these hairs that we're in today—in this moment in time that I'm dealing with right now.

“That does not stop me from doing my job. At the end of the day, we went to Delaney Hall for an oversight visit because members of Congress had the right to hold these agencies accountable. And that is what we went to Delaney Hall for. We did not go there to protest, we did not go there for any of that. We went there to make sure that this facility was up to par and the detainees there were getting due process. And this is what occurred out of all of that.

“We've seen different cases of this administration bullying and intimidating elected leaders—from judges to anyone that gets in their way, this is what they do. And we will not not stand for it. I will not stand for it.

“They will not intimidate me, they will not stop me from doing my job, I will continue to do what the people of the 10th Congressional District elected me to do.

“I'm going to continue to stand up for New Jersey because we're better than this. And New Jersey says no to Trump's hateful policies, and we'll continue to do that.

“Each and every one of you who are here, who continue to express your First Amendment right, who continue to stand up to this administration—do not back down. Do not back down. That is what they want us to do, and we will not do that.

“So we look forward to the next time in court. We're gonna take this all the way through. They know they're wrong, and we're gonna prove the wrong because the facts are on our side.

“No matter what headline they tweet about, no matter what they put on their Twitter—we know that the facts are on my side, and we're gonna be in court defending them.

“I want to thank each and every one of you in this bitter heat for being here. To my mayor, Mayor Ras J. Baraka, who is here; to my assemblywoman, Cleopatra Tucker, who is here; to all of the council people from the city of Newark—I see councilwoman Louise Scott-Rountree, I see Dupre Kelly, I see Pat Council. I see so many people out here, I see people from Jersey City, Councilman Solomon, so many folks who were out here in the crowd.

“So many friends, so many organizations. To the labor—32BJ SEIU, all of you that are here. So many folks who are here, I just want to say thank you so much for being here. To my senior citizens who are here, my constituents who are here, to New Jersey's 10th, all of the support that we've gotten all up and down the state regarding this case: Thank you for standing with me, and let's continue to stand up.

“I would love to stay here with you, but I'm on my way back to Washington, D.C., to do the job that the people of New Jersey elected me to do.

“I love you all. God bless each and every one of you, and Godspeed. I do want to thank my husband who is here with me today, my mom who is here, and my staff. Thank you so much. I love you guys. Thank you.”