HOUSTON, United States

US Congresswoman LaMonica McIver was indicted by a federal grand jury in the state of New Jersey on Tuesday for assaulting officers at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility last month.

"Today a federal grand jury seated in Newark, New Jersey returned a three-count indictment charging U.S. Representative LaMonica McIver with forcibly impeding and interfering with federal law enforcement officers," said US Attorney Alina Habba in a statement posted on X.

If convicted of all three charges, McIver could face a total of up to 17 years in prison.

"This indictment has a maximum penalty of 8 years for Count One, an additional maximum penalty of 8 years for Count Two, and a maximum penalty of 1 year in prison for Count Three," Habba wrote.

The incident happened on May 9 as McIver and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka were protesting the detention of immigrants outside an ICE facility. Tensions escalated, leading to pushing and shoving that allegedly occurred, according to prosecutors.

As Baraka was being arrested by ICE officers, McIver allegedly made "forcible contact" and slammed her forearm into a Homeland Security Investigations agent as well as used "each of her forearms to forcibly strike" an ICE officer, according to the criminal complaint.

Prosecutors said multiple still photos from officer body camera footage showed McIver's "multiple attempts to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate and interfere with the agents attempting to take the Mayor into custody."

McIver has claimed that her arrest was politically motivated.

"The charges against me are purely political -- they mischaracterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight," McIver said after her arrest.

The charges against Baraka were dropped by the US attorney, but McIver is now facing her day in court.

"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," said Habba.

"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."