Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) strongly criticized federal officers with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for entering his district office and briefly detaining one of his staffers last week, calling the incident “deeply troubling.”
In the Wednesday episode, first reported by Gothamist and captured on video, a DHS officer is seen handcuffing an aide, who is crying. Another DHS officer tries to gain access to part of Nadler’s office, while a second staffer stands in the doorway, briefly blocking the agent from entering.
The federal agent tells the second staffer that she is “harboring rioters in the office” and denies her request to see a warrant, saying as he walks by her that he doesn’t need one.
Nadler, in a statement, said no arrests were made “and the situation was quickly deescalated,” but he added, “I am alarmed by the aggressive and heavy-handed tactics DHS is employing in New York City and across the country.”
“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. In the most recent and deeply troubling incident, DHS agents forcefully entered my Congressional office and handcuffed a member of my staff,” Nadler said in his statement.
“The decision to enter a Congressional office and detain a staff member demonstrates a deeply troubling disregard for proper legal boundaries,” he added. “If this can happen in a Member of Congress’s office, it can happen to anyone-and it is happening.”
Nadler called on the Trump administration “to halt the use of these dangerous tactics and to abandon use of the expedited removal process which denies due process to immigrants and citizens alike.”
In a statement to The Hill, a senior DHS official said officers with DHS’s Federal Protective Service (FPS) “responded to information that protesters were present” inside Nadler’s Manhattan office and went to the office because they “were concerned about the safety of the federal employees in the office” and wanted “to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those present.”
“Upon arrival, officers were granted entry and encountered four individuals. Officers identified themselves and explained their intent to conduct a security check, however, one individual became verbally confrontational and physically blocked access to the office,” the statement continued.
“The officers then detained the individual in the hallway for the purpose of completing the security check. All were released without further incident.”
The Hill reached out to the White House.
