A Department of Homeland Security official took to X on Friday afternoon to deny that a Democratic member of Congress had been pepper-sprayed by immigration agents — but her explanation of what really happened was less than convincing to a legal expert.
Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ), who became a focus of controversy as House Republican leadership refused to swear her in for a month after she won a special election to replace her deceased father, posted a video earlier in the day, saying, “ICE just conducted a raid by Taco Giro in Tucson — a small mom-and-pop restaurant that has served our community for years. When I presented myself as a Member of Congress asking for more information, I was pushed-aside and pepper sprayed.”
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin posted a response shortly thereafter.
“If her claims were true, this would be a medical marvel. But they’re not true. She wasn’t pepper sprayed,” wrote McLaughlin. “She was in the vicinity of someone who *was* pepper sprayed as they were obstructing and assaulting law enforcement. In fact, 2 law enforcement officers were seriously injured by this mob that @Rep_Grijalva joined. Presenting one’s self as a ‘Member of Congress’ doesn’t give you the right to obstruct law enforcement. More information forthcoming.”
But as American Immigration Council fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick noted, McLaughlin’s denial wasn’t very meaningful.
“In which @TriciaOhio claims that someone getting pepper spray on them (because someone next to them was hit with pepper spray) is not the same as being pepper sprayed,” he wrote.
The post ‘Not true!’ Desperate Trump official tries to deny lawmaker was pepper-sprayed appeared first on Raw Story.
