Threat of federal trial looms as Rep. LaMonica McIver seeks reelection

It’s generally bad news for a political candidate to find out they are going to stand trial in federal court as they seek reelection.

But for Rep. LaMonica McIver, a Democrat whose bid to toss federal assault charges against her was rejected by an appeals court Wednesday, a looming trial may boost her at the polls.

McIver represents the 10th Congressional District, a collection of towns in Essex, Hudson, and Union counties that has not elected a Republican in nearly 80 years. Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 6-to-1 here, and when Trump ran for reelection in 2024, he won just 24% of the vote in the 10th.

Dan Cassino, a political science professor and pollster at Fairleigh Dickinson University, said continued news coverage of McIver’s legal fight with the Trump administration “does help her, politically.”

“The optimal scenario is that you get targeted by the Trump administration, and then you’re vindicated,” Cassino said.

Federal prosecutors have accused McIver of assaulting federal agents during a melee outside Newark’s Delaney Hall immigration detention facility on May 9, 2025. A crowd of protesters circled Newark Mayor Ras Baraka as agents moved to arrest him for trespassing, and video footage shows McIver pushing agents during the scuffle. Baraka saw his charge quickly dropped, while McIver was indicted in June 2025.

The federal judge overseeing her case rejected her arguments that she is immune from prosecution because she was at Delaney Hall for legislative purposes, and on Wednesday a U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals panel largely agreed with him, paving the way for a trial on at least two of the three charges she faces.

McIver, who is pregnant and due in late October, has pleaded not guilty and faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted. She said Wednesday that the 3rd Circuit’s decision is wrong.

“I will not fold to this administration. We are exploring every possible option,” she said. “The administration will not stop me from doing my job or standing for what is right. This is not over.”

McIver, a former Newark councilwoman, was elected to Congress in a special September 2024 election to replace the late Donald Payne Jr. She was then elected to her first full term that November and is seeking a second term this fall.

Her Republican opponent, Carmen Bucco, did not return a request for comment. When she ran against him in November 2024, she won 74% of the vote to Bucco’s 22%.

Asked to comment, National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole said McIver’s “reckless behavior will not sit well with New Jerseyans.”

“Radical Democrat LaMonica McIver apparently needs a reminder: She is not above the law, and assaulting federal law enforcement officers is against the law,” she said.

Cassino said the case has made McIver far more visible than a typical rank-and-file member of the House, which leans in her favor politically.

The timeline of her legal case is unclear. McIver could postpone it further by seeking a full review by the 3rd Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court. Wednesday’s decision paved the way for a trial on two of the three counts she’s facing while asking a lower court to review the third count, which could also delay matters.

Cassino said any upcoming trial date could collide with the birth of her child or Election Day — neither of which look good for prosecutors.

“It looks really bad to have a very pregnant woman on trial, and it looks really bad to have a woman who just gave birth on trial,” he said. “And you don’t want to be doing this around Election Day, because you don’t want this to look political.”

McIver’s Democratic colleagues are standing by her side. Rep. Rob Menendez (D-08), who was at Delaney Hall the day of Baraka’s arrest and has made regular visits since, said in a statement that McIver is a “dedicated tenacious fighter for everyone she represents.”

“She will bring that same fighting spirit in court to defend not just herself but Congress’s ability to perform oversight and hold the Trump Administration accountable,” he said. “And I’ll be with her every step of the way.”

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-06) called the decision “incredibly worrying.” What federal officials are doing at detention centers like Delaney Hall is “rotten to the core, and it deserves to be exposed,” he said. And Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-11) said the ruling “sets a dangerous precedent.”

“We got your back, sis,” said Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts).