sprayed

A federal law enforcement operation at a Tucson taco shop resulted in a fracas Friday, with agents deploying pepper spray as a group of protesters tried to stop authorities.

Two agents were injured, federal officials said, and U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) posted on social media that she was sprayed in the face by a substance she could not identify. She accused immigration enforcement officers of operating without transparency or accountability.

“While I am fine, if that is the way they treat me, how are they treating other community members who do not have the same privileges and protections that I do?” she said in a statement.

It was less than a month ago that Grijalva was sworn in as the newest member of Congress. She won special election in September to fill the House seat last held by her late father, Rep. Raul Grijalva.

In a video posted to social media, Grijalva said she, two members of her staff and members of the media were harassed and sprayed by agents during what appeared to be a federal immigration raid. She said they interrupted because they “were afraid that they were taking people without due process, without any kind of notice.”

The video shows a staffer stepping in front of Grijalva, raising his arm and turning the congresswoman away as a federal agent sprays nearby protesters. Later in the video, as Grijalva continues walking in the street, a projectile is seen landing near her foot.

She said that she did not know what substance she was sprayed with but that it was “still affecting” her and causing her to cough.

Federal officials said Grijalva was not pepper-sprayed and that agents with Homeland Security Investigations were targeting multiple Tucson restaurants as part of a years-long investigation into immigration and tax violations. Several search warrants were served across southern Arizona on Friday as part of the operation.

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement describing the group gathered in Tucson as a “mob.” She disputed Grijalva’s account and said that two agents were seriously injured in the clash.

“If her claims were true, this would be a medical marvel. But they’re not true. She wasn’t pepper sprayed. She was in the vicinity of someone who *was* pepper sprayed as they were obstructing and assaulting law enforcement,” McLaughlin wrote. “Presenting one’s self as a ‘Member of Congress’ doesn’t give you the right to obstruct law enforcement.”

Authorities used yellow tape to cordon off the restaurant and its parking lot as agents removed boxes from the building early Friday. By midmorning, protesters had gathered outside with signs and whistles.

Video shows Grijalva approaching the agents and asking where they were taking people. She asked them to stop being aggressive.

Some in the group were hit with pepper spray as they tried to keep federal vehicles from leaving the area.

Tucson police said federal tactical agents responded to extract investigative special agents from the area where the protesters were gathered. After deploying chemical munitions, police said federal agents then requested emergency support from local authorities to help exit the area.

Grijalva’s experience is the latest incident this year of members of Congress being stonewalled by federal law enforcement officers or getting into physical altercations while appearing at federal immigration facilities or at immigration raids.

U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, a New Jersey Democrat, is in an ongoing legal dispute with the Trump administration after a May altercation at a Newark immigration facility in her district. And Sen. Alex Padilla, a California Democrat, was thrown to the ground and detained by federal agents while questioning Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at a June news conference in Los Angeles.

Bryan writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Matt Brown in Washington contributed to this report.