Congressman Van Orden’s False Battery Accusations Against CODEPINK Member Leads to Death Threat

CODEPINK Statement

At around 2AM this morning, July 17, our Palestine campaign coordinator Nour Jaghama was released from a 15-hour hold in a Milwaukee jail, and has been charged with battery against a sitting member of Congress. The congressman, Rep. Derrick Van Orden, falsely accused Nour of assault after running into her from behind. He then used social media and press remarks to incite vitriol against our organization, CODEPINK, by attempting to link us to terrorism and political violence. This absolutely false arrest and the Congressman’s remarks have put Nour and CODEPINK in danger. 

Two hours after his post on X, we received a death threat, saying: "The next Palestinian protest in the street. I'm going to get my semi truck and run over you f*****g f*gg*ts and make road pancake out of you you f*****g c**t. I hope you all die b***h/"

CODEPINK has reported the death threat to the FBI. We have also demanded that the police release the body cam footage of the incident. And we have filed a complaint against the congressman with the Congressional Ethic Committee.

CODEPINK’s foundational value is non-violence. Our actions are colorful, often funny, and always educational. We have been bringing our message of peace and non-violence to the events surrounding the Republican National Convention, just as we will be doing at the Democratic National Convention, at a time where that message is needed more than ever. 

This incident with the Congressman occurred while Nour peacefully stood in line for an event for the Republican Women’s Brunch. A man tried to cut in line by shoving past her. When she didn’t move aside, the man then told one of the Texas police officers that she assaulted him and that he would like her arrested. He announced that he was a member of Congress – Representative Derrick Van Orden, who is known for his inappropriate, angry outbursts in Congress. He used his power to have Nour wrongfully arrested and then went on his X account to stoke hatred against our organization. 

Representative Van Orden’s tweet referred to the incident as “political violence” against him. Setting aside the fact that he approached Nour from behind and she could not recognize or see him. We interact with Republican Congressmen and Senators every day in Congress and engage them in meaningful dialogue, as we do with all elected officials. This is well documented across our social media. We know there was no violence of any kind, at least on our part. But Van Orden’s language is deliberate: Mere days after a high-profile assassination attempt, he used the same words to describe our peace organization that the nation is using to describe the person who attempted to kill Donald Trump.

This is a deliberate attempt to scapegoat and incite hate and retaliatory violence against our organization and views. In a heated political moment where people all over the United States are called to unite, Van Orden used the moment to incite hate against nonviolent activists.

In his tweet, the congressman also referred to CODEPINK as a pro-Hamas group. Approaching us from behind, he likely saw Nour’s pink keffiyeh she wore around her shoulders. The representative decided to shove the only Palestinian member of our group and then went on his social media and referred to us as “Pro-Hamas.” 

This is an obvious example of the racial profiling and anti-Palestinian hatred that has been stoked in this country since October 7th. Hateful messaging and false accusations against Palestinians led to the killing of Wadea Al-Fayoume, a six-year-old boy in Illinois, the shooting of three Palestinian young men in Vermont, and the attempted drowning of a Palestinian child in Texas. This incident is another incitement of violence against Palestinians. The very same rhetoric that leads our elected officials to disregard Palestinian life in Gaza is the rhetoric they use to disregard Palestinian life at home. 

We condemn the incitement of violence against anti-genocide activists and stand with Nour wholeheartedly. 

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