Adelita Grijalva Says She Was Pepper-Sprayed During ICE Raid
US Rep. Adelita Grijalva Says She Was Pepper-Sprayed During ICE Raid
Fresh off a bitter, weeks-long struggle to claim her rightful seat in the U.S. House, Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) was thrust into a new confrontation on Friday, alleging she was directly assaulted with pepper spray by federal agents during a protest against a highly controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid in Tucson.
The incident unfolded outside Taco Giro, a local Mexican restaurant that Grijalva frequently patronizes in her district. Grijalva, a progressive Democrat known for her sharp criticism of the administration’s immigration policies, arrived at the scene after community members gathered to block ICE vehicles from leaving with detained individuals.
“The biggest problem that we have in this community is that we have Trump that has no regard for any due process, the rule of law, the Constitution,” Grijalva said. “They’re literally disappearing people from the streets.”
In widely circulated video footage, federal agents in tactical gear and masks are seen confronting the crowd. Grijalva approaches the officers, attempting to de-escalate the situation and, critically, identify herself as a sitting member of Congress.
“When I presented myself as a Member of Congress asking for more information, I was pushed aside and pepper-sprayed,” Grijalva wrote in a statement following the clash, adding that she was “sprayed in the face by a very aggressive agent.” Video evidence shows an agent discharging a chemical agent or pepper ball in her immediate vicinity, causing the congresswoman and her staff to cough uncontrollably.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) immediately pushed back on Grijalva’s account, characterizing her claims as false and dramatic, as DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin vehemently denied that the agents had targeted the representative, before mocking her over the claim.
“She wasn’t pepper-sprayed. She was in the vicinity of someone who was pepper-sprayed as they were obstructing and assaulting law enforcement,” McLaughlin said. “If her claims were true, this would be a medical marvel. But they’re not true. She wasn’t pepper-sprayed. Presenting one’s self as a ‘member of Congress’ doesn’t give you the right to obstruct law enforcement.”
Tucson Police Department spokesman, Ofc. Frank Magos concurred with the representative’s recount, stating that ICE had served a federal search warrant at Taco Giro, and “federal tactical resources responded to extract federal investigative special agents from the area where the community had gathered.” Federal agents deployed “chemical munitions” and called for emergency support from Tucson police to make their way out of the area, Magos said.
ICE stated the agents were executing 16 search warrants across Southern Arizona as part of a “years-long investigation into immigration and tax violations,” confirming multiple individuals were taken into custody.
The violence of the clash drew immediate condemnation from Arizona Democrats, including Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, who denounced the “disproportionate use of force, smoke grenades and pepper balls against the public, including our own Representative Adelita Grijalva.” Senator Ruben Gallego called the alleged action “disgraceful, unacceptable, and absolutely not what we voted for.”
“Under the Trump administration, unidentified federal agents often intentionally wear clothing with vague words like ‘police’ to purposefully confuse the public,” city officials said. “Their disproportionate use of force, smoke grenades and pepper balls against the public, including our own Representative Adelita Grijalva, is not justified and cannot be tolerated.”
The incident serves as a jarring political bookend to the long and tumultuous path Grijalva took to become a voting member of the House finally. Elected in a Sept. 26 special election to fill the seat left vacant by the death of her father, Raúl Grijalva, her swearing-in was delayed for nearly 50 days, a bitter standoff with the House Republican majority led by Speaker Mike Johnson.
This delay was widely viewed by Democrats and Arizona’s Attorney General, who took the extraordinary step of filing a lawsuit against the House, as political obstruction designed by the House leadership, often associated with the MAGA faction of the GOP.
The core of the fight was a critical piece of legislation, the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Grijalva’s progressive bona fides and her immediate pledge to transparency made her a potential game-changer. Once sworn in, Grijalva would provide the 218th and final signature needed on a discharge petition, which would force a full House vote on the Act, compelling the Department of Justice to release all unclassified documents and communications related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation.
Republicans denied the political motive, with Speaker Johnson blaming the delay on the historic government shutdown and the House being out of session. However, the contrast was stark as other recently elected members were sworn in quickly when the House was in session, while Grijalva was sidelined until mid-November. The MAGA block’s attempt to slow-walk her induction failed, but it established the combative political landscape she is now forced to navigate.
That context gives deeper meaning to Friday’s raid. Grijalva, who has repeatedly cited her duty to protect marginalized constituents, linked the aggression she experienced directly to the unchecked power of the federal government.
“If federal agents are brazen enough to fire pellets directly at a Member of Congress,” Grijalva wrote, “imagine how they behave when encountering defenseless members of our community.”
SEE ALSO:
Rep-Elect Adelita Grijalva Will Finally Be Sworn In After 7 Weeks
Arizona AG Sues House Over Delay In Adelita Grijalva’s Swearing In
Adelita Grijalva’s Special Election Victory Narrows GOP House Majority
Mike Johnson Is Using His Power To Delay Release Of Epstein Files
