US congresswoman says she was 'sprayed in the face' during ICE raid in Arizona

ISTANBUL

Arizona Democratic Representative Adelita Grijalva said that during a Friday raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the city of Tucson the agents pepper-sprayed her and “pushed her around.”

In a video on US social media company X, Grijalva said the incident happened near a restaurant she often visits. She said she encountered a scene with “maybe 40 ICE agents, most of them masked, in several vehicles,” who had been stopped in the street by people who feared “they were taking people without due process.”

Grijalva said she was "sprayed in the face by a very aggressive agent, pushed around by others."

"I literally was not being aggressive, I was asking for clarification, which is my right as a member of Congress," the Arizona Democrat added.

In a response, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) denied Grijalva's account, saying the claims are "not true."

"If her claims were true, this would be a medical marvel. Presenting one’s self as a 'Member of Congress' doesn’t give you the right to obstruct law enforcement," Tricia McLaughlin said on X.

Speaking to CNN, Grijalva rejected McLaughlin’s version of events, saying: “It’s convenient to them to make it seem as if I was doing anything other than inquiring about what was happening.”