Democrats have denounced the charges as politically motivated and an effort by the Trump administration to intimidate member of Congress and chill oversight.

The U.S. attorney for New Jersey said on Monday she was charging a member of Congress from the state with assault and impeding law enforcement during a scuffle caught on video earlier this month at a privately run immigration detention center in Newark.

The Justice Department announced an assault charge Monday against Rep. LaMonica McIver, a New Jersey Democrat who was involved in a chaotic confrontation with officials outside a federal immigration facility earlier this month.

Congressional lawmakers on Friday made their way into an ICE facility in New Jersey, claiming they were there to conduct an "oversight visit."

"It is my Constitutional obligation to ensure our federal law enforcement is protected,” interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba said.

New charges against a sitting House Democrat who participated in a demonstration outside a New Jersey ICE facility could exacerbate tensions on the House Judiciary Committee.