| Jason, we're going to look back on the arrest of Rep. LaMonica McIver last night as a critical turning point in Trump's efforts to break our constitutional democracy. This isn't politics as usual. In fact, nothing about this is normal. First, Rep. McIver joined a group of lawmakers conducting an oversight visit of a newly opened ICE detention center in New Jersey — a task that is both within their responsibility as members of Congress and particularly important right now as Americans are growingly concerned about extreme immigration practices. Then, things went off the rails. The Trump administration alleges the members of Congress "stormed in." Witnesses and video footage say otherwise, showing that ICE agents ratcheted up a confrontation with the lawmakers, during which Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka was arrested. The whole thing was a little chaotic but the altercation wasn't particularly dangerous — especially when held up against, let's say, the treatment of Capitol Police on January 6th. Now, Trump's Justice Department (to be clear, it's his former personal lawyer, Alina Habba, in an acting U.S. attorney role) has charged Rep. McIver with "assaulting, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement." It'd be laughable if it wasn't so horrifying. So why is this really, really bad? For starters, the administration is way out of line in actively preventing Congress from serving its constitutional oversight role. The ICE agents were overstepping their duty from the very beginning of this interaction. But it's the overt weaponization of the Justice Department against a political opponent that worries me most — that's just not something that happens in functioning democracies. (And while I know the Trump team likes to whine about the Biden administration pressing criminal charges against him, the man gave them little choice by blatantly thumbing his nose at the law. And let's be clear: He was still given white-glove treatment.) Going after members of Congress is an extreme, undemocratic action no matter how you slice it — especially when the "crime" committed is so flimsy and the legal motivation is so clearly partisan. Here's why this must be a turning point. Either this extralegal maneuver is the next horrific step in our descent toward authoritarianism — or this is when ordinary Americans start to wake up and see an administration that's unaccountable, a president that's motivated by partisan vengeance, and a government willing to weaponize the rule of law. In solidarity with all who are fighting back, Amy
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