Overview
- In May 2025 McIver joined a congressional visit to Delaney Hall in Newark and prosecutors say video shows her making physical contact with federal immigration officers as they sought to arrest Mayor Ras Baraka.
- Federal prosecutors indicted McIver on three counts of assaulting, resisting, and impeding federal officers, charges that carry up to 17 years in prison and to which she has pleaded not guilty.
- A federal appeals court in August 2026 declined to toss the assault charges and rejected a broad legislative-immunity claim for at least two counts, reducing the chance the case will be dismissed on that ground.
- McIver announced on social media that she intentionally became pregnant while under indictment, a post that prompted intense criticism from conservative figures who said the move sought sympathy for her legal troubles.
- She has since announced the birth of her second daughter while the criminal case remains open with no trial date set, raising political stakes for her reelection bid and producing sharply different coverage across outlets.