Rep. Adelita Grijalva says she was 'sprayed in the face' during ICE confrontation

Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva of Arizona said she was pepper-sprayed and "pushed around" by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during a raid at a Tucson restaurant on Friday

Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva of Arizona said she was pepper-sprayed and "pushed around" by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during a raid at a Tucson restaurant on Friday.

In a video statement posted on X, Grijalva said it happened as local Tucsonans gathered to stop a group of roughly 40 ICE agents, many of them masked and in several vehicles, stationed in the middle of a street near a restaurant she frequents.

Grijalva said she was "sprayed in the face by a very aggressive agent, pushed around by others." She added, "I literally was not being aggressive, I was asking for clarification, which is my right as a member of Congress."

Department for Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin denied Grijalva's account, saying instead that the congresswoman was "in the vicinity" of another person who was pepper-sprayed as they obstructed and assaulted law enforcement.

“If her claims were true, this would be a medical marvel. But they’re not true. She wasn’t pepper-sprayed," McLaughlin said.