Aliya Rahman, a Minneapolis resident who was violently detained by ICE officers in January during “Operation Metro Surge,” filed a federal tort claim against the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday, claiming the agency used excessive force and violated her rights. Rahman was never charged with any crime. “They battered Aliya. They assaulted Aliya. They were negligent in their medical care for Aliya,” says Jessica Gingold, one of Rahman’s attorneys. “All of those things are illegal, and this is our tool for making sure that they have to pay for that.”

Aliya Rahman was on her way to a doctor’s appointment when her route was blocked by ICE vehicles. Rahman’s window was smashed, and she was violently pulled out of her car. She told the officers she is disabled and autistic, but says they mocked her. Rahman was brought to an ICE jail, where she was denied medical care. She eventually fell unconscious and woke up at a hospital. “My hope is that Americans can see that we have an option that might someday make mass acts of racial violence seem too expensive for these folks, even if they don’t share our values,” says Rahman.

Transcript

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman.

We end today’s show with Minneapolis resident Aliya Rahman. On Thursday, along with her legal team, Aliya filed a tort claim against the Department of Homeland Security over her treatment at the hands of ICE officers in January, when she was on her way to the doctor, instead came upon a street blocked by federal agents. Her window was smashed, her seat belt cut. She was violently pulled out of her car. Aliya described some of what happened next in testimony before Congress in February.

ALIYA RAHMAN: I was carried face down through the street by my cuffed arms and legs while yelling that I had a brain injury and was disabled. I now cannot lift my arms normally. I was never asked for ID, never told I was under arrest, never read my rights and never charged with a crime.

AMY GOODMAN: Aliya Rahman was brought to an ICE jail inside Minneapolis’s Whipple Federal Building, where she was denied medical care. She eventually fell unconscious, woke up at a hospital.

In February, she attended President Trump’s State of the Union address as a guest of Minneapolis Congressmember Ilhan Omar. Aliya was violently removed from the gallery and spent several hours in jail, all for silently challenging Trump during his speech, challenging him by standing up quietly. Meanwhile, Republican members of Congress and the Senate were standing up, cheering, sitting down, standing up, sitting down, cheering. She just stood up quietly, before she was taken out.

We’re joined now by Aliya Rahman in Minneapolis. We’re also joined by her attorney, Jessica Gingold, senior counsel at the MacArthur Justice Center. She’s joining us from Chicago.

We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Aliya, we have followed you on this journey, after you were ripped out of your car, after you were arrested in Minneapolis there, and then when you were taken out of the House chamber when President Trump was giving his State of the Union address. Can you talk about the claim you’re filing?

ALIYA RAHMAN: I can. So, this is an FTCA claim, that I will let Jessica talk about the kind of legal details of, and it is the tool that is available to me. So, I am doing this because this is a tool for accountability that someone like me can actually use against an ICE officer. And the American public has not seen any more accountability for the militarized violence enacted on our own people at the hands of DHS than we have for the violence in the war you’ve spent much of this show talking about.

And I’m doing this because in the months since I first walked into this studio, you know, we have not only not seen accountability, but we’ve seen ICE wage disinformation campaigns against its victims, and we’ve seen this agency seek to expand in the United States, buying warehouses to house people and auditioning for a role in everyday life, at our airports, at Marine Corps graduations, trying to be normalized. And to me, it is not normal to have an agency that is unaccountable for killing people handing out water at the airport, the same agency that weaponizes thirst at the border. I don’t want to see these people at the polls.

So, for me, talking about this to the American public, talking about the type of claim, that I hope Jessica will help me with a bit here, my hope is that Americans can see that we have an option that might someday make mass acts of racial violence seem too expensive for these folks, even if they don’t share our values.

AMY GOODMAN: Jessica Gingold, explain exactly what this claim is. And would you describe it as suing the federal government?

JESSICA GINGOLD: I would describe it as the first step in suing the federal government. And thank you, Amy, for having us on today.

An FTCA claim is our tool for accountability. It is a — basically, we file a complaint with the agency, that details what they did to her and how that harmed that her. They have six months to respond to us, and after those six months, we can then go to federal court, which we have every intention of doing. The law underlying this is Minnesota torts. So, these are just — we’re just saying simple things like what they did was wrong, and they should be held legally accountable. They battered Aliya. They assaulted Aliya. They were negligent in their medical care for Aliya. All of those things are illegal, and this is our tool for making sure that they have to pay for that.

AMY GOODMAN: I mean, what you have been through, Aliya, the video went viral of what took place. I hate to make you relive this, but it is so shocking, what took place when you were on your way to a doctor’s appointment. Can you explain once again what happened? And then take us on this journey, because then you went to the State of the Union as a guest of your congressmember, of Ilhan Omar. But start in that car. The immigration agents smashed your window?

ALIYA RAHMAN: They did. My driver’s side window was actually open for them to use to open the car if they needed to. But, yes, they smashed my passenger side window and yelled to both get out of the car and drive. So, I was taken out of that car. You can see details, for those watching, in the complaint, that we have made available, pieces of that, for the press to look at.

And so, I was taken to the Whipple Center. The whole time, I was telling them that I am a disabled person. I had been on my way to my 39th appointment at the traumatic brain injury clinic here in Hennepin County. I was not given the disability accommodations I needed. Instead of a mobility aid, like my cane or wheelchair, I was dragged around by my shoulders, until I finally was able to get a wheelchair, and eventually went unconscious from assault wounds in my cell. I was removed from the detention center unconscious by ambulance. I woke up in the emergency room in Hennepin County Hospital, the one I was actually trying to go to that day.

And it absolutely has been a journey since then. You know, I’m not someone who even likes my picture taken or posts on social media, but it became clear very quickly that this had gone viral. And to me, that put a responsibility in my lap. And so, really, the next thing was that I was asked to testify in Congress about what I saw inside detention, about the experience on the street, that you’ve mentioned. And really, people saw that video, but what was important to me is to realize that I had actually made it out of detention. I was able to come home. I speak English, and people want to hear my story. And that is not the case — none of those factors are the case — for so many folks who have suffered at the hands of DHS and, frankly, who suffer in our prisons every day. So, I said yes to testifying in Congress. And since then, my life has been full of harassment, full of targeting. It’s also been full of support and asks, from people I don’t even know, to fight.

So, I was invited to the State of the Union. And, you know, there isn’t really much more to the story than what you’ve said, right? I had stood up and sat down a number of times that night. Just like you would see any congressperson do down below, the folks, the guests in the gallery, do the same thing. I was arrested, and ultimately, you know, the court said that there was nothing they really could charge me for, because, again, no sign, no sound, not blocking anyone’s view or the hallway, you know.

And, you know, yes, thanks for having us back, and I’m so happy to be here in this circumstance, because the night that I was held overnight in Capitol Police headquarters, they essentially, you know, uncuffed me from the wall, discharged me, I ate three slices of bread, and I came into your studio to talk to you in the same outfit I was in the night before, because I don’t believe these things can stand. We can’t have this.

AMY GOODMAN: So, when you were in the car and they dragged you out, you were shouting, “I am disabled! I am disabled!” And the agent said to you, “Too late, too late”? This was in the car in Minneapolis.

ALIYA RAHMAN: Yeah, Jessica has confirmed for me that they actually said, “Too F—ing late” — I won’t say the real phrase, because I know we can’t do that here live. But, yeah, grabbed my body and dragged me out. And so, you know —

AMY GOODMAN: And yet, you were also —

ALIYA RAHMAN: — it looks like they actually escalated. Mm-hmm.

AMY GOODMAN: — taken out — you were also taken out of the gallery as you stood up and sat down, like so many hundreds of people in the House chamber at the State of the Union.

ALIYA RAHMAN: Yes. And in the gallery, you know, because you’re not allowed phones in there, so we don’t have video, but there were actually at least four people who attempted to intervene in the way I was being handled: a doctor who was familiar with my case, Dr. Nina Patel, was up there; an attorney, who said, “I really have some questions about what I’m seeing”; a pastor; a community organizer. And they were all told that if they tried to accompany me, they would also be dragged out.

AMY GOODMAN: Aliya Rahman, I thank you for being with us, Minneapolis resident who’s filed an FTCA complaint — that’s a Federal Tort Claims Act complaint — with the Department of Homeland Security over her violent arrest by federal immigration agents. And Jessica Gingold, senior counsel at the MacArthur Justice Center. Thanks, both, for joining us.

And that does it for today’s show. I’ll be appearing at screenings of the new documentary about Democracy Now!, Steal This Story, Please!, here on the West Coast over the next week. It’s continuing to play at the IFC in New York. Today at 1:10 and at 7:10, I’ll be at the Laemmle Royal in West Los Angeles at a benefit for Pacifica radio station KPFK. The evening may be sold out, but walk-ups are welcome at the 1:10 benefit screening. There will also be a dinner benefit before the 7:10 screening of Steal This Story, Please! And I’ll be doing the Q&A after the film with the co-director of Steal This Story, Please!, Carl Deal. On Saturday through Wednesday, I’ll be in the San Francisco Bay Area with post-screening Q&As at the Roxie, San Francisco’s Mission District, the Rialto Elmwood in Berkeley, the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, the Rialto Cinemas Sebastopol and beyond. You can go to democracynow.org and see all the places I’ll be. I look forward to seeing folks there. This is Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman in Los Angeles.