Federal officers burst into Manhattan office accusing staff of criminal wrongdoing • Video shows emotional aide in cuffs as colleague demands warrant • Nadler, 77, blasts Trump’s ‘reckless and dangerous’ immigration crackdown • ‘If this can happen in Congress, it can happen to ANYONE’
Shocking video has captured the moment Department of Homeland Security officers stormed into Rep. Jerry Nadler’s congressional office and handcuffed a crying female staffer in an extraordinary confrontation that has sent shockwaves through Washington.
The dramatic incident unfolded Wednesday at the Democrat’s Manhattan district office, located in the same federal building as an immigration courthouse that had become a flashpoint for protests over Trump’s deportation crackdown.
In footage that has sparked outrage among Democrats, DHS officers can be heard accusing Nadler’s staff of “harboring rioters” as they forcefully entered the sixth-floor office and detained a visibly distressed female aide.
The 77-year-old longtime congressman, who was not present during the raid, erupted in fury when informed of the incident, blasting President Trump for “sowing chaos in our communities” through “intimidation tactics against both citizens and non-citizens.
‘I’M A FEDERAL OFFICER!’
The explosive video, filmed by a person monitoring activity in the immigration court, shows:
- A female Nadler staffer crying as she is handcuffed by DHS officers
- An officer attempting to enter a private area of the congressional office
- A staff member demanding to see a warrant, to which the officer replies negatively
- The DHS officer declaring: “I’m a federal officer… we have the right to check”
In the video, which was shared with Gothamist and filmed by a person who was monitoring activity in immigration court, DHS officers entered Nadler’s district office and accused staff members of “harboring rioters.” A Nadler staffer is seen crying and being handcuffed.
Another officer is at a door trying to enter a private area of the office while a staffer asks for a warrant.
THE CONGRESSMAN’S FURY
Nadler unleashed a blistering statement Saturday, declaring:
In the most recent and deeply troubling incident, DHS agents forcefully entered my Congressional office and handcuffed a member of my staff
The veteran Democrat warned: “if this can happen in a Member of Congress’s office, it can happen to anyone — and it is happening.
President Trump and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are sowing chaos in our communities, using intimidation tactics against both citizens and non-citizens in a reckless and dangerous manner.
DHS DEFENDS ACTIONS
The Department of Homeland Security pushed back against Nadler’s characterization, claiming their Federal Protective Service officers were responding to reports of protesters inside the office.
“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 officers then detained the individual in the hallway for the purpose of completing the security check. All were released without further incident,” DHS said in a statement.
The agency claimed they were “concerned about the safety of the federal employees in the office” after hearing reports of “incidents” nearby.
NO ARRESTS – BUT DAMAGE DONE
Despite the dramatic confrontation:
- The staff member was not arrested and not charged with any crime, both Nadler’s office and a DHS spokesperson confirmed
- In a brief telephone interview, the staffer who’d been handcuffed said that “everything resolved” and declined to comment further
- All four individuals in the office were released without charges
IMMIGRATION COURTHOUSE CHAOS
The incident erupted against a backdrop of escalating tensions at the federal building:
- ICE officers last week arrested a 20-year-old Bronx high school student after an immigration judge dismissed the student’s pending deportation case
- The student, from Venezuela, is the first New York City public school student to be detained by ICE during Trump’s second term
- Major protests had been ongoing outside the building over the arrest
PROTESTERS CLASH WITH POLICE
The confrontation in Nadler’s office was just the beginning of a chaotic day:
Hours after the confrontation involving the Nadler staffers and DHS police, around 6:30 p.m., police arrested nearly two dozen demonstrators they allege blocked traffic outside the building
In the demonstration, mutual aid volunteers assisting immigrants tried to block ICE vans transporting detained immigrants from leaving the building, according to organizers. Eighteen protesters were issued criminal summons, and five people were arrested and charged
THE BACKSTORY
According to witnesses:
- Two people who were at the courthouse to monitor ICE activity said the confrontation came after ICE officers threatened to arrest them and other advocates, and a Nadler staffer invited the advocates inside
- Nadler’s office is on the sixth floor in the same Varick Street building as federal immigration court, which is on the fifth floor
- The building also houses DHS and other federal offices
DEMOCRATS RALLY
Fellow New York Democrat Rep. Ritchie Torres condemned the incident, tying it directly to Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The decision to enter a Congressional office and detain a staff member demonstrates a deeply troubling disregard for proper legal boundaries.
NADLER’S WARNING
The congressman issued a stark warning to Americans:
The New York representative also cautioned that the incident showed a “deeply troubling disregard for proper legal boundaries”
His office’s co-chief of staff Robert Gottheim confirmed there was no arrest but otherwise declined to comment on the unusual event that resulted in federal agents entering the office of a Democratic member of Congress, accusing office staffers of criminal wrongdoing
THE BROADER BATTLE
The rare altercation between federal officers and congressional staff in a legislator’s office comes amid growing friction over Trump’s immigration crackdown and mass deportation efforts, which have sparked protests across the country and embroiled the administration in a battle with the courts over the legality of the president’s policies.
TRUMP’S CRACKDOWN INTENSIFIES
The incident represents a dramatic escalation in tensions between the Trump administration and Democratic lawmakers over immigration enforcement. With protests erupting at courthouses across the country and federal agents now entering congressional offices, the battle lines are being drawn for what promises to be an explosive confrontation over immigration policy.
