DHS says ‘arrests are still on the table’ after New Jersey House Dems caught on camera ‘storming’ ICE facility
A trio of U.S. House Democrats from New Jersey whose visit to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center went off the rails Friday and devolved into a scuffle with federal agents could face arrest, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Lawmakers LaMonica McIver, Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez allegedly stormed the Delaney Hall Detention Center, along with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was arrested and charged with trespassing. Authorities claim an ICE agent was assaulted in the confrontation, which was caught on camera.
"If it was a typical U.S. citizen, and they tried to storm into a detention facility that's housing dangerous criminals or any person at all, they would be arrested," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told "Fox News Live" host Kevin Corke Saturday. "Just because you are a member of Congress or just because you're a public official, does not mean you are above the law.
"If you assault a law enforcement officer, we will also make sure you answer to justice," she added. "So, I think that arrests are still on the table for this. This is an ongoing investigation."
DHS reportedly has body camera footage of Congress members assaulting ICE officers, "including body-slamming a female ICE officer," Axios reported.
A group of protesters, including the lawmakers, stormed the detention center as a bus of detainees was entering the security gate, according to a news release from DHS.
After the incident, McIver wrote in an X post that ICE "shoved" her and "manhandled" Watson Coleman.
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During a press conference, McIver escalated her claims, saying she was "assaulted by multiple ICE officers while regional directors of ICE watched it happen."
DHS footage posted to X Saturday appears to show McIver barreling unprovoked through law enforcement near the gate.
"WATCH: US Congresswoman LaMonica McIver (wearing a red blazer), storms the gate of Delaney Hall Detention Center ASSAULTING an ICE agent," DHS captioned the video.
DHS officials have not yet confirmed any pending charges against those accused of storming the center.
Watson Coleman, who also accused an ICE agent of shoving her, wrote in an X post that she, McIver and Menendez visited the center Friday "to exercise our oversight authority as Members of Congress."
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DHS officials confirmed those being held at the contested prison include "murderers, terrorists, child rapists and MS-13 gang members."
"Contrary to a press statement put out by DHS we did not ‘storm’ the detention center," Watson Coleman wrote. "The author of that press release was so unfamiliar with the facts on the ground[s] that they didn’t even correctly count the number of Representatives present."
Baraka was handcuffed, detained for five hours and formally charged with trespassing.
"They did this on a charge of trespass, a municipal charge which would normally be handled by way of a ticket," Baraka's attorneys wrote in a statement provided to Fox News. "His subsequent release by the court demonstrates that there was no reason to believe that this well-known and widely respected public official was either a flight risk or a danger to the community that he served."
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Baraka's attorneys maintained that the mayor was exercising his First Amendment rights and "acted throughout with calm, restraint and dignity in a law-abiding manner."
They also accused Alina Habba, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, of "repeatedly" making "inaccurate, inflammatory, and unfair" public statements.
In an X post Friday, Habba wrote, "The Mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey this afternoon. He has willingly chosen to disregard the law. That will not stand in this state. He has been taken into custody. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW."
Baraka's attorneys seemingly accused Habba of "falsely ma[king] public statements accusing the Mayor of violating the ‘rule of law’" and "improperly claim[ing] that he is guilty of the trespass charge filed against him."
DHS referred inquiries from Fox News Digital to the U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, who did not immediately respond.