New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver pleaded not guilty at a hearing in Newark on Wednesday following a conflict with law enforcement outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Newark last month.

The freshman Democrat faces three counts of assaulting, resisting, impeding and interfering with federal officers and could see up to 17 years in prison if convicted. She is one of three New Jersey delegation members to have visited an ICE facility in May but the only one to be charged.

McIver’s case is one example of lawmakers and politicians being arrested or charged amid a wider power struggle between President Donald Trump’s administration and Democratic officials — especially as he grows his sweeping overhaul of the country’s immigration processes and promises more deportations. 

“The facts of this case will prove I was simply doing my job and will expose these proceedings for what they are: a brazen attempt at political intimidation,” McIver said in a statement earlier this month. She did not respond to multiple requests for comment. 

“This indictment is no more justified than the original charges, and is an effort by Trump’s administration to dodge accountability for the chaos ICE caused and scare me out of doing the work I was elected to do,” she added. “But it won’t work — I will not be intimidated.”

McIver and two other New Jersey Democrats, Reps. Rob Menendez Jr. and Bonnie Watson Coleman, were present at an ICE detention facility in an oversight capacity in May. Newark’s Democratic mayor, Ras Baraka, was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor as he tried to join the members of Congress. That charge was later dismissed by interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba. Menendez and Watson Coleman were not charged for any involvement during their visit.

The Department of Homeland Security recently updated their policies to require an advance notice of 72 hours to visit their facilities, a departure from earlier guidance that just required a member of their staff to notify the agency 24 hours in advance — the rule in place when the New Jersey delegation visited in May. A DHS spokesperson later suggested the notice period should be a week. Under federal law, members of Congress are allowed to visit immigrant detention sites unannounced.

During the altercation, McIver had physical contact with an officer wearing a uniform with the word “police” on it, according to footage from the Department of Homeland Security. DHS categorized it as an “assault” on federal law enforcement, while McIver says she is the one who was assaulted. 

This month has seen several interactions between high-profile Democrats and federal forces, including Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California, who was handcuffed and pinned to the floor at a DHS news conference helmed by Secretary Kristi Noem. While Democrats and some moderate Republicans came to his defense, several members of Congress called for formal charges to be pressed against him as well — a reflection of the charges brought against January 6 protesters, some of whom were imprisoned and eventually pardoned by Trump following his inauguration.

Baraka has already filed a lawsuit against Habba following his arrest, and the liberal watchdog group Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint with the New Jersey Office of Attorney Ethics, alleging she has acted improperly in launching investigations into the state’s Democratic governor and attorney general over immigration issues. House Judiciary Committee Democrats formally requested more information about the arrest from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on June 3. 

Dozens of people organized outside the courthouse Wednesday ahead of McIver’s hearing in support of the representative, with Baraka in attendance. A November trial is expected.