A video circulating on social media shows Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents detaining an aide to Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York.
According to the Gothamist, DHS officers handcuffed the aide inside Nadler’s Manhattan office, which also houses a DHS facility and an immigration courthouse. In the video shared on YouTube by WNYC, a woman can be seen being placed in handcuffs as someone in the background says “No she did not. That is not what happened.”
According to reports, DHS officers entered Nadler’s office and accused his staff of “harboring rioters.” In the video, one officer is seen attempting to enter a private office as a staffer inside repeatedly asks to see a warrant. “I’m a federal officer. We’re here checking on something. We have the right to check,” the officer tells her.
The staffer initially appeared to block the agent from entering the office but eventually stepped aside and allowed him in. In the background, the handcuffed aide can be heard crying as another officer repeatedly yells, “Stop resisting.”
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The Department of Homeland Security told the Gothamist that an individual had obstructed officers who were conducting a security check. The check was reportedly prompted by information suggesting that protesters were inside Rep. Nadler’s office.
Later that day, demonstrators gathered outside the building to protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to the outlet.
A DHS spokesperson and Nadler’s office confirmed to the Gothamist that the staffer was neither arrested nor charged with any crime. In a phone interview, the handcuffed woman said, “everything resolved.”
Two individuals at the courthouse who were monitoring ICE activity told the outlet that ICE officers threatened to arrest them and other advocates. They also stated that a Nadler staffer had invited those advocates into the office.
“President Trump and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are sowing chaos in our communities, using intimidation tactics against both citizens and non-citizens in a reckless and dangerous manner,” Nadler said in a statement to POLITICO. “In the most recent and deeply troubling incident, DHS agents forcefully entered my Congressional office and handcuffed a member of my staff.”
Nadler added that he was “alarmed by the aggressive and heavy-handed tactics DHS is employing in New York City and across the country.”
