Police have tried to detain Code Pink founder Medea Benjamin without a warrant on mysterious charges of ‘assaulting’ a Democratic congresswoman at an anti-Maduro press event in support of the “freedom for the Venezuelan people.”

Benjamin was accused of assaulting Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Florida) when over a dozen officers surrounded her home on Wednesday in Washington, DC.

In footage she posted to Facebook, Benjamin strenuously denies the accusations, explaining that she was the one assaulted – pushed and pulled by right-wing Venezuelans (“big guys”) supporting the US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido at an anti-Maduro press conference.

Unable to secure a warrant or convince Benjamin to voluntarily go back to the station with them without one, the police ultimately chose not to detain her, according to journalist Anya Parampil, who was with Benjamin at the embassy in May. Even though police insisted they had footage of the “assault,” after reviewing it they apparently chose not to proceed with the arrest.

UPDATE: police tried to detain @medeabenjamin without a warrant & opted not to proceed with arrest after reviewing footage of the alleged incidentWe see once again how local DC police are colliding w @StateDept & right-wing Venezuelan putchists in order to crush dissent — Anya Parampil (@anyaparampil) November 13, 2019

A group of activists calling themselves the Embassy Protection Collective took up residence in the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, DC in April, after Venezuelan diplomats were ordered to leave the US, seeking to prevent it from falling into the hands of Guaido supporters. Some protesters remained inside for over two weeks until police raided the building and arrested them.

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Benjamin is not the first participant in the Venezuelan embassy protests to be accused of an “assault.” Journalist Max Blumenthal, who back in May supported the activists occupying the embassy with permission of the Maduro government, was taken into custody last month on charges he had assaulted one of the anti-Maduro protesters outside the premises. He was released after spending the weekend in jail.

So the police realized they were arresting someone based on the LIES of Juan Guaido’s cretinous DC mafia? Too bad they didn’t realize that before jailing me based on a similar fabrication. https://t.co/CDbf5cAr4V — Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) November 13, 2019

Wasserman-Schultz, former chair of the Democratic National Committee, resigned under a cloud amid allegations of rigging the 2016 primaries in Hillary Clinton’s favor. It’s not clear if she had anything to do with the officers appearing at Benjamin’s home, or who ordered Blumenthal’s arrest last month.

Are we just randomly arresting dissidents now in this country on make believe charges? What is this nonsense? People should be horrified by this, the recent arrest of Max Blumenthal, and others. This needs to stop. https://t.co/IafGWpAQrl — Bill Moran (@BillAlwaysWins) November 13, 2019

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Editor’s note: The article has been updated to better reflect the chronology of events.

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