Across the country, a new defense is being heard in state and federal courtrooms. From Democratic members of Congress to judges to city council members, officials claim that their duties include obstructing the official functions of the federal government.
It is a type of liberal license that excuses almost any crime in the name of combating what Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called the “modern-day Gestapo” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
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McIver is shown on video forcing her way into the facility and striking and shoving agents in her path.
Elected officials joined a mob in briefly overwhelming security and breaching the fence barrier after a bus was allowed through the entrance. Federal officials were able to quickly force back the incursion.
McIver and House Democrats insisted that McIver forcing her way into the facility might be trespass and assault for other citizens, but she was merely exercising “legislative oversight.”
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Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) even ominously warned the federal government that Democrats would bring down the house if it tried to charge McIver: “It’s a red line. They know better than to go down that road.”
Well, the red line was crossed in a big way after Acting US Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba charged McIver with a felony under Title 18, United States Code, Section 111(a)(1).
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The problem with the oversight claim is that McIver’s status as a member of Congress does not allow her access to closed federal facilities. Congress can subpoena the executive branch or secure court orders for access. However, members do not have immunity from criminal laws in unilaterally forcing their way into any federal office or agency.
If that were the case, Ocasio-Cortez would not have posted images of herself crying at the fence of an immigrant facility. She could have climbed over the fence in the name of oversight.
Conversely, Republicans in the Biden administration could have simply pushed their way into the Justice Department to seek the files on the influence-peddling scandal.
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After the melee, the city manager issued an order preventing city police from assisting in any way in the carrying out of such civil immigration enforcement efforts by the federal government.
Even judges are claiming the same license. In Wisconsin, Judge Hannah Dugan has been charged with obstructing a federal arrest of an illegal immigrant who appeared in her courtroom. Dugan heard about agents waiting outside in the hallway to arrest the man and went outside to confront the agents. She told them to speak to the chief judge and that they needed a different warrant.
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Dugan also claimed she was “carrying out her duties,” even though her hearing was over, the charges were not part of a state matter, and the arrest was being carried out outside her courtroom.
As Democratic leaders like Walz engage in rage rhetoric and paint Republicans (and federal law enforcement) as Nazis, political violence is on the rise across the country. Many of the people burning Teslas claim the same type of license, that the ends justify the means. That includes affluent professionals who are now shoplifting from Whole Foods as a “protest” against Jeff Bezos meeting with Trump.
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Jeffries was correct that a “red line” was crossed, but it wasn’t the one he was thinking of. The red line is the one separating political expression and criminal conduct.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
* Original Article:
https://nypost.com/2025/05/20/opinion/democrats-shocked-shocked-that-breaking-the-law-leads-to-their-arrest/?utm_source=smartnews&utm_campaign=nypost&utm_medium=referral
