A staff member working for Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) was temporarily detained by Federal Protective Service officers on Wednesday after the staff member “verbally confrontational and physically blocked” officers from accessing the Democrat congressman’s district office in Manhattan while allegedly “harboring rioters in the office.”
A video shared on X, formerly Twitter, shows one of Nadler’s female staff members at his Manhattan office being handcuffed by Federal Protective Service agents while a second staff member tried to prevent an agent from entering the Democrat congressman’s office. In the video, a Federal Protective Service agent can be heard telling the staff member, “We have the right to check.” The agent later added, “You [are] harboring rioters in the office.”
At the end of the video, the second Nadler staff member can be seen allowing the agent to enter the office.
In a Monday statement, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Federal Protective Service officers responded last Wednesday to “information that protesters were present inside U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler’s District Office in Manhattan, New York.”
The Department of Homeland Security noted that the officers were “concerned about the safety” of the employees in Nadler’s office due to “earlier incidents in a nearby facility.” As a result, Federal Protective Service officers went to Nadler’s office 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 Department of Homeland Security stated. “The officers then detained the individual in the hallway for the purpose of completing the security check. All were released without further incident.”
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Following Wednesday’s incident, Nadler criticized President Donald Trump and his administration in a statement to Politico, saying, “President Trump and the Department of Homeland Security are sowing chaos in our communities, using intimidating 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 added, “If this can happen in a Member of Congress’s office, it can happen to anyone — and it is happening.”
In a statement to The New York Times, the Democrat congressman claimed that Trump’s administration is “behaving like fascists” and is “trying to intimidate members of Congress.” “We have to fight them,” Nadler said. “We don’t want to be a fascist country.”
