Activist group files ethics complaint after member accused of accosting GOP lawmaker

Activist group Code Pink submitted a complaint against Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) to the House Ethics Committee over now-dismissed battery charges.

The Milwaukee County district attorney’s office filed and dismissed the misdemeanor battery charge against Code Pink activist Nour Jaghama after Van Orden accused her in a post to social platform X of assaulting him outside the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee Tuesday.

“While standing in line to enter an event at the RNC today, I was assaulted by what appeared to be a member of the pro-Hamas group CODEPINK. A nearby police officer witnessed this assault and I understand they have been arrested,” Van Orden wrote.

The anti-war activist group organizing against U.S. support for Israel in its war in the Gaza Strip announced it submitted the complaint to the House Ethics Committee Wednesday.

A spokesperson for the Milwaukee County DA confirmed to The Hill that charges have been dropped. The DA’s office told Jaghama while dismissing the charges that they had reviewed the evidence, including the body camera footage, and there was not enough proof to charge her, according to Jaghama. 

In the complaint, Code Pink said the “situation underscores the unacceptable nature of a U.S. Congressman using his position to defame a private citizen and incite violence.” 

“We want to inform the Office of Congressional Ethics that the damage from Rep. Van Orden’s actions and subsequent social media postings continues,” the group added in the complaint. 

The group has received death threats since Van Orden made his post, which has garnered significant traffic online with 367,000 views and more than 3,200 likes, according to a Code Pink spokesperson. 

“We ask the Office of Congressional Ethics to immediately counsel Rep. Van Orden to remove the language from his social media before further harm results, to stop his angry outbursts and refrain from physically pushing others,” the complaint reads. “Of course, an apology would be appropriate, but not expected.”

Code Pink almost immediately disputed Van Orden’s narrative following his allegations against the activist.

Tighe Barry, an organizer with Code Pink also present at the scene, told The Hill that Van Orden shoved Jaghama, telling her to get out of his way because he was a congressman. 

“She started to walk in and this very tall, bald-headed white guy with a beard grabbed her left shoulder pushed her out of the way and shot past her,” Barry told The Hill. “He didn’t want to wait.” 

“The cop turns to him because he realizes that this guy had just put his hands on a young woman, and then he points, he grabs his shirt, and he points to it and says I’m a congressman. She just assaulted a sitting congressman,” Barry added. 

Jaghama told The Hill that she felt someone trying to get past her in the line into the secure zone around the convention, but she “stood her ground” because she was first in line. 

She added that Van Orden then shoved past her, turned around, and accused her of assaulting a congressman to a nearby officer. 

“We agree that persons must be accountable for their actions, and that includes Congresspersons who call for vengeance to cover up their own actions,” the ethics complaint reads. 

Van Orden has faced criticism before over outbursts toward others. Last year, he faced significant criticism for cursing at teenage Senate pages in the Capitol.

Van Orden’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment about Code Pink’s allegations. His campaign team deferred to his congressional office for comment on the ethics complaint. His congressional office did not respond to requests for comment.