On Tuesday, a group of women from CODEPINK were standing in line for an RNC-related event, when one woman was shoved from behind by a person who turned out to be Republican Representative Derrick Van Orden. Van Orden then immediately cried victimhood and accused the woman, Nour Jaghama, of assaulting a congressman, although he could not describe how she assaulted him or describe the injuries he claimed to have suffered.
The woman was approached by a law enforcement from the State of Texas who accused her of assault, arrested her and held her until Milwaukee Police arrived. For their part, Milwaukee Police went into an immediate cover up mode and claimed that the woman "battered" Van Orden who was slightly injured but refused medical treatment.
CODEPINK issued their own statement which seems much more plausible and credible:
While peacefully waiting in line to enter an event, Nour, a visibly Palestinian woman, was intentionally bumped into by Rep. Derrick Van Orden while he tried to shove past her. Despite not reacting to this, Nour was falsely accused of “alleged” assault by a Texas State police officer on the scene and we are told she will be taken to a Milwaukee Police Department for arrest. Notably, two other CODEPINK staff members ahead of her in line passed through without any issues, raising concerns of racial profiling.
It is a microcosm of the misogyny at the RNC that the more gentle non-violent woman, the only Palestinian in our group, is assaulted and then, even when she did not respond she was the one who was arrested.
They also posted a video of two CODEPINK members describing what happened:
Van Orden also released a statement in which he mewled about political violence and compared the incident to a gunman shooting at Trump on Saturday:
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.”
The case is being reviewed by the district attorney's office for possible charges. There are a few things they need to keep in mind.
Van Orden has a long history of bias and prejudice against Palestinians, and Jaghama was obviously of Palestinian descent. Van Orden even went as far as complaining that peaceful protesters calling for peace in the Gaza region were allowed on sacred insurrectionist territory.
Van Orden also has an even longer history of raging against young people, like teenaged Senate pages or young women working at a library.
Thirdly, is it even reasonable to believe that a young woman with no history of violence would be able, much less prone, to beat up a grown man who used to be a Navy SEAL and who has a criminal rap sheet?
If justice is to be served, no charges should be issued against Jaghama. However, Van Orden needs to be cited for disorderly conduct and assault for shoving Jaghama from behind.
