A Kitchener woman is facing up to eight years in prison and a $250,000 fine for allegedly slapping a U.S. border official in the face during a trip to Niagara Falls.

The 40-year-old woman arrived at the Rainbow Bridge by cab on Sept. 2 with plans to visit the Niagara Falls State Park, according to a report from the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York state.

Due to "derogatory information" connected to the woman's previous attempts to cross into the U.S., she was sent to secondary inspection before being denied entry and told she would have to return to Canada.

At that point, officials say, she became "verbally combative and uncooperative" and stated she was an American citizen, but did not offer any verification of her claim.

When she grabbed her bags and began walking toward an exit, a Customs and Border Protection officer stepped in front of the door and told the woman she wouldn't be able to leave and should sit down.

"The defendant asked the officer, 'What if I punch you in the face?,'" according to the report. When the officer again ordered her to sit down, the attorney's office says she "open-hand slapped the officer on the left side of her face."

The woman was restrained and escorted to a cell. She's been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding an officer of the United States.

Her next detention hearing is scheduled for Sept. 13.