Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva says federal agents fired pepper spray at her and others protesting an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Arizona.
In a video posted on social media Friday, Grijalva said roughly 40 federal officers, most of them masked, pulled up in several vehicles for a raid at Taco Giro in Tucson, where a large group of demonstrators had gathered in the street.
There, she was “sprayed in the face by a very aggressive agent” and “pushed around by others,” she said.
She also posted footage of a heavily armored officer firing pepper spray towards her and others in the crowd as she approaches agents and repeatedly tells them “you need to get out.” The footage also appears to show a pepper bullet hitting her feet.
Grijalva, who was recently sworn into office by House Speaker Mike Johnson 50 days after winning a special election for a House seat in Arizona, said that only one officer was “trying to speak to me in any kind of civil tone” once she introduced herself as a member of Congress.
“I literally was not being aggressive, I was asking for clarification, which is my right as a member of Congress,” she said. “I just can only imagine if they’re going to treat me like that, how they’re treating everyone else.”
The raid was carried out in connection with a years-long investigation into allegations of immigration and tax violations, according to federal officials.
At least 190 people in the area were charged with immigration-related offenses within the last week, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona. The vast majority of those cases involved people accused of entering the country without legal permission.
In a joint statement, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero and Vice Mayor Lane Santa Cruz said officers used a “disproportionate use of force” to push back against the crowd.
“Smoke grenades and pepper balls against the public, including our own Representative Adelita Grijalva, is not justified and cannot be tolerated,” the wrote.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin disputed the congresswoman’s account.
“If her claims were true, this would be a medical marvel,” she said in an emailed statement to The Independent. “But they’re not true. She wasn’t pepper sprayed.”
Grijalva “was in the vicinity of someone who *was* pepper sprayed as they were obstructing and assaulting law enforcement,” according to McLaughin.
Two law enforcement officers “were seriously injured by this mob that Rep. Adelita Grijalva joined,” she said.
“Presenting one’s self as a ‘Member of Congress’ doesn’t give you the right to obstruct law enforcement,” McLaughlin said.
ICE is a lawless agency under this Administration – operating with no transparency, no accountability, and open disregard for basic due process.
— Rep. Adelita Grijalva (@Rep_Grijalva) December 5, 2025
No family in our community should live in fear, and I will not rest until we get clear answers and accountability. pic.twitter.com/Z2mUuRxHuX
The Trump administration has accelerated the president’s mass deportation campaign with sweeping immigration enforcement operations across the country, resulting in thousands of arrests, largely targeting people who have never been convicted of any crimes.
“The biggest problem we have in this community is that we have Trump, who has no regard for any due process, the rule of law, the Constitution,” Grijalva said Friday. “They’re literally disappearing people from the streets.”
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