Arizona congresswoman claims she was pepper sprayed during federal operation

A federal law enforcement operation at an Arizona taco shop resulted in a fracas on Friday with agents deploying pepper spray as a group of protesters tried to stop officers Two agents were injured and U S Rep Adelita Grijalva was in the vicinity as protesters were sprayed The Democratic congresswoman from Arizona took to social media claiming she was sprayed in the face and accused immigration enforcement officers of operating without transparency or accountability While I am fine if that is the way they treat me how are they treating other public members who do not have the same privileges and protections that I do she revealed in a comment It was less than a month ago that Grijalva was sworn in as the newest member of Congress She won special polling in September to fill the House seat last held by her late father In a video posted to social media Grijalva commented she two members of her staff and members of the media were harassed and sprayed by agents during a federal immigration raid that local residents had interrupted because they were afraid that they were taking people without due process without any kind of notice The video shows a man stepping in front of Grijalva raising his arm and turning the congresswoman away as a federal agent sprays nearby protesters Later in the video as Grijalva continues walking in the street a projectile is seen landing near her foot She noted she did not know what substance she was sprayed with but it was still affecting her with a cough Federal executives approved that Grijalva was not pepper sprayed and that agents with Homeland Safety Investigations were targeting multiple Tucson restaurants as part of a years-long analysis into immigration and tax violations Several search warrants were served across southern Arizona on Friday as part of the operation In a message Department of Homeland Assurance Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin described the group gathered in Tucson as a mob She declared two agents were seriously injured during the clash and took issue with Grijalva s account of what happened If her alleges were true this would be a health marvel But they re not true She wasn t pepper sprayed She was in the vicinity of someone who asterisk was asterisk pepper sprayed as they were obstructing and assaulting law enforcement McLaughlin wrote Presenting one s self as a Member of Congress doesn t give you the right to obstruct law enforcement Leadership used yellow tape to cordon off the restaurant and its parking lot as agents removed boxes from the building early Friday By mid-morning protesters had gathered outside with signs and whistles Selected in the group were hit with pepper spray as they tried to keep federal vehicles from leaving the area Tucson police announced federal tactical agents responded to extract investigative special agents from the area where the protesters were gathered After deploying chemical munitions police commented federal agents then requested emergency promotion from local personnel to help with exiting the area Grijalva thanked officers from the Tucson Police Department for making sure everyone is safe and stressed that the local officers had not interrupted traffic or harassed local residents They did not make any arrests They were not the aggressors here she reported The Arizona Democrat s experience is the latest circumstance this year of members of Congress being stonewalled by or put in physical altercations with federal law enforcement officers while attempting to conduct congressional oversight The incidents have typically involved congressional Democrats appearing at federal immigration facilities or at immigration raids U S Rep LaMonica McIver a New Jersey Democrat is in an ongoing legal dispute with the Trump administration after a May altercation at a Newark immigration facility in her district And Sen Alex Padilla a California Democrat was thrown to the ground and detained by federal agents in June after appearing at a press conference for Homeland Protection Secretary Kristi Noem Associated Press writer Matt Brown contributed to this account from Washington D C Source