Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) appeared on MS Now on Saturday to describe what she said occurred during an encounter with ICE agents one day earlier.
Grijalva said she joined a group of protesters at a law enforcement operation on Friday, where she alleged she was shoved aside and pepper-sprayed after identifying herself as a member of Congress.
According to Grijalva, she approached agents to ask questions about the ongoing operation and was attempting to “understand what’s happening.”
She said the situation escalated when agents directed her to move away from the area.
Grijalva claimed one agent told her, “I don’t care who you are, you need to get out of the way.”
During her interview, hosted by Jen Psaki, Grijalva repeated her allegation that she and her staff were pushed and pepper-sprayed.
She then made a new claim, telling viewers that she was “shot at” during the encounter.
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Psaki opened the segment by expressing concern for Grijalva and her staff.
“First of all, it’s great to see you. I’m happy to see that you’re okay. How are you? How are your staff doing?” Psaki asked.
Grijalva responded by describing the incident as “really scary, very jarring,” saying, “I mean, it’s one thing to hear about these things happening in communities. It’s another thing to have it happen directly to you.”
She added, “I really did go, you know, with the assumption that I’m just trying to understand what’s happening. And so I went up, I introduced myself, I let them know who I was. One agent said, ‘I don’t care who you are, you need to get out of the way.’”
Grijalva continued, “We were pushed. We were shot at. And it’s really scary. It was very frightening and very jarring.”
Federal officials disputed her description of events.
DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin publicly challenged the accuracy of Grijalva’s statements after the congresswoman claimed she had been attacked by ICE personnel.
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. In fact, 2 law enforcement officers were seriously… https://t.co/U0zspIuGxQ
— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) December 5, 2025
Video of the incident shows that nonlethal projectiles were used during the operation.
The footage does not show Grijalva being pepper-sprayed in the face.
Instead, the recording indicates she approached agents, refused commands to move back, and remained close to the line of officers.
A pepper ball was fired at the ground near her while she continued advancing toward agents.
The video also shows the crowd shouting and moving toward ICE personnel as officers attempted to clear the area.
Grijalva was among those in close proximity to agents at the time the nonlethal round impacted the ground.
ICE agents had been carrying out an enforcement action when protesters gathered around the scene.
The agency uses pepper ball launchers as a crowd-management tool, and officials said the device deployed in this instance was not directed at Grijalva but toward the ground to create distance between officers and demonstrators.
You really think the American people are stupid, don’t you?
Luckily I saved the FULL video of you LYING about being pepper sprayed — even though you “conveniently” trimmed that section out of your post https://t.co/3c2TuW3XxK
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) December 6, 2025
