Five days after Department of Homeland Security police handcuffed one of his staffers, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said the incident was “outrageous” and called for the House Judiciary Committee to investigate.

During an interview with CNN on Monday, the congressman accused the DHS of lying about the events that led to one of his aide’s being briefly detained at his New York district office Wednesday.

What You Need To Know

  • Five days after Department of Homeland Security police handcuffed one of his staffers, Rep. Jerry Nadler said the incident was “outrageous” and called for the House Judiciary Committee to investigate

  • During an interview with CNN on Monday, the congressman accused the DHS of lying about the events that led to one of his aides being briefly detained

  • “DHS was upset that some of my staff members were watching them grab immigrants emerging from an immigration court in the same building a floor below,” Nadler said

  • The handcuffed staffer was not arrested or charged with a crime

“DHS was upset that some of my staff members were watching them grab immigrants emerging from an immigration court in the same building a floor below,” Nadler said. “They were upset that my staff invited some of the observers up to my office. They then came up to the office and demanded entrance.”

A video posted by the news site Gothamist shows a uniformed DHS police officer confronting a woman standing in the doorway of Nadler’s office while another woman, with her hands behind her back, is heard crying in the background and saying she wants to call her boyfriend. 

The staff member at the office entrance can be heard telling the DHS officer that he needed a warrant. He said he didn’t and entered the office after accusing Nadler’s staff of “harboring rioters.”

The handcuffed staffer was not arrested or charged with a crime. She was only unshackled after Nadler showed up on the scene, he said. 

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request from Spectrum News for comment about the incident. In a statement to Gothamist, it said the agents entered the office because they learned protesters were inside and were concerned about the safety of Nadler’s staff.

“The tactics were totally unacceptable, and they needed the warrant,” Nadler told CNN. “And my office is a congressional office. It’s a completely separate branch of government — a co-equal branch of government with the executive, for which they work.”

Nadler said he has not reached out to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem directly. He said he is currently writing a letter requesting that House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, hold a hearing on the incident. Nadler is also a member of the committee.