Trump DHS Spox Threatens to Arrest House Democrats: ‘We Have Body Camera Footage’ Of Them ‘Assaulting’ ICE Officers
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin joined CNN’s Victor Blackwell Saturday morning and explicitly warned that federal arrests of House Democrats “were on the table” and likely “coming.”
Blackwell asked McLaughlin about Friday’s arrest of Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka during a protest outside an ICE facility, which devolved into scuffles between officers and protesters.
DHS alleged that members of Congress were involved in the clashes with law enforcement, including Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Rob Menendez (D-NJ) and LaMonica McIver (D-NJ).
“What happened is that these members of Congress, including the mayor as well, in a mob of protesters, as there was a bus full of detainees going through the gate, they stormed the gate and actually entered the first security checkpoint,” McLaughlin told Blackwell, adding:
This put law enforcement at risk, and this actually put the detainee as well at risk. If any official, including these members of Congress want to enter the facility and take a tour, DHS is more than accommodating, but just because you’re a member of Congress does not mean you can break the law, trespass, put law enforcement at risk, and storm the detention facility.
Blackwell then asked, “So as you said here today and in your statement that they stormed the gate and broke into the detention center, according to the statement, was anybody else arrested other than the mayor of Newark?”
“There were multiple people arrested, and Victor, I think that we should let viewers know there will likely be more arrests coming. We actually have body camera footage of some of these members of Congress assaulting our ICE enforcement officers, including body slamming a female ICE officer, so we will be showing that to viewers very shortly,” McLaughlin replied.
“Did you say a video of members of Congress?” Blackwell asked, surprised.
“That’s correct,” she responded as Blackwell insisted, “Officials?”
“That’s correct, sir. It’s disgusting,” McLaughlin insisted. She later posted footage of the incident to X.
A spokesperson for Rep. Watson Coleman released a statement saying, “Threatening to arrest Members of Congress for exercising their lawful oversight authority is another example of this administration abusing its power to try to intimidate anyone to stands up to them,” said a spokesperson for Watson Coleman.
The spokesman added that Watson Coleman’s office has “reviewed the body came footage” and claims it actually shows “ICE agents put their hands on Members of Congress … it also proves that DHS has been lying about this incident.”
Rep. McIver claimed at a Friday presser that she was “assaulted by multiple ICE officers while regional directors of ICE watched it happen. Nobody offered an apology or said anything to me about what occurred out here.”
Watch the clip above via CNN.
