Rep. Derrick Van Orden accuses Code Pink anti-war protester of assault during RNC

Wisconsin Rep. Derrick Van Orden on Tuesday accused an anti-war protester of assault during an incident in downtown Milwaukee during the Republican National Convention, prompting a police investigation.

Code Pink, the protest group involved in the incident, denied an assault took place and rather said Van Orden “tried to shove past” the activist.

The interaction occurred near the 400 block of East Wisconsin Ave. shortly after 11 a.m., according to the Milwaukee Police Department, who said they are investigating the incident as an assault.

Van Orden, a Prairie du Chien Republican, in a statement on X said he was “assaulted” by a member of Code Pink in what “appears to be an incident of political violence” as he was in line for an event. He referred to the group, which has protested the war in Gaza, as a “pro-Hamas group.”

The U.S. Conceal Carry Association held a “Defend and Protect” event at the Pfister Hotel at the time. A “Republican Women Lunch” was scheduled at the hotel for 12:30 p.m.

Milwaukee police told the Journal Sentinel that a 24-year-old woman “battered the victim” and was taken into custody. “The victim,” police said, referring to Van Orden, “sustained minor injuries and refused medical attention on scene.”

A spokeswoman for Van Orden did not respond to Journal Sentinel questions, including about Van Orden’s reported injuries.

It was not clear Tuesday afternoon whether charges had been filed against the woman. Milwaukee police said only that charges "will be reviewed by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office."

Code Pink in a statement after the arrest identified the woman involved in the incident as the group’s Palestinian campaign organizer, Nour Jaghama.

The group said Jaghama, whom they described as “visibly Palestinian,” was “intentionally bumped into” by Van Orden “while he tried to shove past her.”

“He tried to cut me in line so I stood in front of him because I was first,” Jaghama said in a video posted by the group to X.

Other Code Pink activists in the video said they were in line for a “Republican women’s brunch” when “someone… came up and shoved her,” one activist said in the video, referring to Jaghama. “It ended up being Derrick Van Orden, a member of Congress from Wisconsin, who, as soon as he ran into her said, ‘You are assaulting a member of Congress.’”

Van Orden, who is running for re-election in the state's 3rd Congressional District, has been involved in confrontations before. In 2021, he reportedly threatened a teenage librarian over an LGBT book display. And he drew criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike for cursing at a group of high school-aged Senate pages during a late-night tour of the U.S. Capitol.

In his statement after the incident, Van Orden repeatedly mentioned political violence and referred to Saturday’s assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.

“There is no place for political violence in this country and I have repeatedly called for people who choose this path to be prosecuted to the greatest extent of the law,” he wrote. “Nothing will change until these people are held accountable.”

Alison Dirr of the Journal Sentinel contributed.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Derrick Van Orden accuses Code Pink protester of assault during RNC