Fox News congressional reporter Chad Pergram pressed House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on recent threats from the Trump administration that some of his members could be arrested and charged with assault of federal officers resulting from a recent scuffle outside of an ICE detention facility.
“Mr. Leader, what about your statement the other day after there was this incident in Newark, you said they better not touch our members,” Pergram began, as Jeffries replied, “Correct.”
“What happens if they were to go and arrest these members or if they would try to sanction them in the House of Representatives?” Pergram asked.
“They’ll find out,” Jeffries replied.
“What would you do, though? I mean, of course. I mean, doesn’t that broach–” Pregram added as Jeffries again said, “They’ll find out.”
“Doesn’t that go across–” Pergram tried to follow up as Jeffries fumed, “That’s a red line.”
“What’s the red line?” Pergram added, “I mean, I know we have to see–”
Jeffries cut in, “It’s a red line. It’s very clear. First of all, I think that the so-called Homeland Security spokesperson is a joke. It’s a joke.”
Over the weekend, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin joined CNN’s Victor Blackwell and explicitly warned that federal arrests of House Democrats “were on the table” and likely “coming.”
DHS has alleged that members of Congress were involved in clashes with law enforcement, including Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Rob Menendez (D-NJ) and LaMonica McIver (D-NJ).
“They know better than to go down that road, and it’s been made loudly and abundantly clear to the Trump administration. We’re not going to be intimidated. Tactics to try to force principled opposition from not standing up to their extremism. It hasn’t happened. During the entirety of this failed term, it didn’t happen when Donald Trump temporarily was sitting high. In the immediate aftermath of the election. Do you think it’s gonna happen now when he’s the most unpopular president in American history after his first 100 days? Give me a break. No one’s intimidated by this dude. No one. And so there are clear lines that they just dare not cross,” Jeffries concluded.
Watch the clip above via C-SPAN.
The post Hakeem Jeffries Angrily Condemns ‘Joke’ DHS Spox For Threatening Arrests of House Democrats: ‘That’s a Red Line!’ first appeared on Mediaite.
