Trump suppresses elected officials

House Speaker Mike Johnson stood in the corridor of the Capitol last Thursday afternoon, smiling as he questioned reporters about their recent anger this week. A few hours ago, senior Democratic Senator Alex Padilla, from California, interrupted a press conference held by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and was thrown to the ground by federal agents and handcuffed by federal agents. In the video of this incident, Padilla identified herself on dark casual pants and windshields and then asked Noem about the government’s protests deploying National Guard and Federal forces in Los Angeles, “I watched the same video, and it’s a short video from a lot of people,” Johnson said. “Everyone can draw his own conclusions.” He went on to say that he would support a motion to denounce Padilla, who inappropriately said that his behavior was “inappropriate”.

Shortly after the video spread, the Trump administration responded with its usual caution. Noem accused Padilla of not identifying herself, even though the videotape refuted her claim. In the subsequent interview, Padilla, who arrived at the federal building in Los Angeles that day, held a different meeting, “From the moment I entered the building, I was accompanied by National Guard and FBI agents. They opened the door for me.” The Department of Homeland Security continued to issue a statement about X, which incorrectly claimed that Padilla “paid tribute to Noem” and “did not comply with the officer’s repeated orders,” adding that the Secret Service “considered him as the attacker and the officer was right.”

At the time, the arrest of a senator in Los Angeles was the latest in the administration’s growing aggressive move against elected Democrats and their allies. Each instance is closely related to Trump’s immigration crackdown. In late April, the FBI arrested and charged Wisconsin County Judge Hannah Dugan with allegedly assisting an undocumented immigrant fleeing immigration and customs law enforcement officers in a local court. (She pleaded not guilty.) May 9, ice Agents arrest Mayor of Newark Ras Barakaand U.S. Congresswoman Lamonica McIver, outside an immigration prison in New Jersey. Baraka, accused of trespassing private property, was detained for five hours before being released. The charges were dropped, and weeks later, Baraka filed a defamation lawsuit against Trump’s former personal attorney and New Jersey interim attorney Alina Habba. (The lawsuit cites Habba’s misleading claims about Baraka’s behavior on social media and says “he is willing to choose to ignore the law.”) McIver is accused of assaulting a federal official in the chaos of Baraka’s arrest and sued on June 10. “The allegations against me are purely political,” McPherson had explain. “They misunderstood my behavior.” If convicted, she faces up to eight years in prison. On May 28, DHS agents broke into the New York City office of veteran Democratic U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler in pursuit of alleged thugs ice The officer arrested the immigrants outside the court. The moment the agent arrived at the door, they put on an employee, claiming that she would get in the way when they asked for an arrest warrant. On June 17, less than a week after Padilla was arrested, ice Agents resolve and put on handcuffs Brad RandNew York City’s auditor and mayor candidate, he accompanied a man outside the immigration court. “You’re getting in the way of him,” Lander replied as he was cuffed near the elevator, “I’m not blocking. I’m standing in the corridor.” The DHS then accused him of “attacking law enforcement and blocking federal officials.”

There are some common grounds in events involving legislators: In each case, video evidence directly contradicts or undermines the government’s description of what happened. The allegations against Representative McPherson are undoubtedly the most serious. However, she and two other delegates – Rob Menendez and Bonnie Watson Coleman, both New Jersey Democrats – went to the facility on May 9 to exercise undisputed privileges: allowing members of Congress to access and inspect the immigration litigation facility, which was not announced as part of their oversight. This practice has become quite common in recent years. Newark’s factory, known as Delaney Hall, opened in the first week of May, when DHS signed a $1.2 billion contract with private prison company Geo to operate it. Baraka, who was running for governor at the time, opposed the contract and raised questions about building permits. When he went over to try to access the facility, Geo staff turned him out.

Three members of Congress arrived at noon on May 9. To access the facility, visitors walk through the exterior door and enter the internal parking lot leading to the main compound. When Menendez noticed many armed forces, they had been waiting for about an hour ice Agents who exit the building from the parking lot. “I’ve never really seen a handful of armed men in a detention center,” he told me. “These guys clearly show the way you expect if they’re going to the fields.” He remembers thinking, “What are you going to fall?”

By then, Menandes realized that Baraka had appeared, but that little explanation was given to why there were so many agents. “I honestly think there will be a major raid literally because I’ve never seen so many armed agents,” he said. According to Baraka’s lawsuit, McIver’s representative invited him to meet with a congressional delegation outside the facility after the tour. However, at 1:50 afternoona guard stationed at the outside door invited Baraka inside Baraka, claiming that it would “a calming crowd” that gathered outside to protest. About forty-five minutes later, a senior DHS agent approached Baraka and ordered him to leave. He lingers, but only briefly. By then, the MP had seen Baraka at the gate and walked over to talk to him. The agent returns and threatens to arrest Baraka, who withdraws the house from public property outside.

What happened next is not clear. Menendez said he heard part of a telephone conversation in which the DHS agent was apparently speaking to his superiors and he talked about the decision to arrest Baraka. Then a large number of agents left the facility. “We’re going to go on a tour,” Menandez told me. “The mayor walked out. The situation was over.” However, he continued, “That was when they decided to open the door and they knew all these people protesting on public property.” This situation inevitably escalated: armed federal agents were converging in crowds outside the facility. Delegates joined Baraka. The video shows they were being fought over and pushed into chaos. McPherson had physical contact with federal agents, and there was no doubt about that. But these shots have little evidence of what she was accused of – she seemed to be pushed by herself. “You can’t talk to a congresswoman like this,” McVille said at one point. A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security later claimed that there was no evidence that members of Congress were part of the “mob” and were attacking us ice Law enforcement officers, including slamming women’s bodies ice official. ”

Nadler’s chief of staff, Robert Gottheim, was shocked by the government’s exaggerated description of its confrontation with public officials. “You exercise your rights. They do what they want to do. Then, you figure it out after the facts.” The Immigration Court in Manhattan is located on the fifth floor of the Federal Building at 201 Warrick Street; Nadler’s office is located on the sixth floor. On the afternoon of May 28, ice Officials appeared on the fifth floor with pictures of immigrants planning to appear in court. As the government strengthens its arrests in court and is appointed in routine inspections ice Offices, demonstrators and clergy have appeared to record activities. Two members of Nadler staff watched downstairs and invited militants upstairs to digest the situation when tensions broke out. Officials from the Federal Protection Agency, the DHS agency guarding government property and personnel, followed them to Nadler’s office.