U.S. Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) announced Wednesday that she plans to file criminal charges against a member of the activist organization Code Pink, following an alleged physical altercation on Capitol Hill. The incident reportedly took place in a hallway after a congressional hearing where Luna, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, had questioned Secretary of State Marco Rubio about Code Pink and its alleged connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
"After I questioned Secretary Rubio on Code Pink and their ties to the CCP, their organization followed me out, berated me, and then their head person here in DC smacked me. I will be filing charges." — Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, Florida Republican Congresswoman
According to Luna's account, a group of Code Pink members followed her out of the hearing room, verbally accosted her, and then the group's top Washington organizer physically struck her. "After I questioned Secretary Rubio on Code Pink and their ties to the CCP, their organization followed me out, berated me, and then their head person here in DC smacked me," Luna posted on X. "I will be filing charges." She further clarified that these were not "allegations" but verified events, stating, "My staff was there when it happened and wrote statements for LEO."
Video footage of the encounter, obtained and published by TMZ, shows Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin moving her hand toward Luna's elbow. The footage, captured from multiple angles and including slow-motion replays, depicts the interaction. In the video, Luna is heard telling Benjamin, "Hold on, wait, no. It doesn’t matter. You just touched me. You’re going to walk away right now or else I’m going to call Capitol Police. Don’t touch me." Benjamin responded by saying, "Oh, all right. I’ll walk away," and called out "Bye-bye!" as Luna departed. Luna stated that law enforcement investigators have access to both the video and witness statements to support her claims.
In a separate interview, Luna expanded on the broader implications of the incident. "Look, we live in a day and age when people feel like they can hurt people because they disagree with them politically. We’ve seen this happen to many conservatives, but I’m sure it also happens on the left as well. That’s unacceptable," she said. "You don’t touch anyone, especially if you don’t like what they’re saying. You cannot physically harm someone. You can’t hit them." Luna expressed relief that the incident was captured on video, asserting, "I’m just glad that there was footage of it, and I think that we have more than enough evidence to hold this person accountable and responsible. Let this person be a symbol to everyone else that’s going to come up here and try to hurt people because they disagree with them."
Beyond pursuing charges, Luna has called on House Speaker Mike Johnson to ban Code Pink from all congressional spaces. "I have asked the Speaker to ban Code Pink. I was just physically hit by their head organizer. This is right after I questioned Secretary Rubio about them. It is time Speaker Johnson ban them," she posted. When contacted for comment, U.S. Capitol Police stated, "For safety reasons, we cannot discuss any potential investigations."
Code Pink has publicly disputed Luna's characterization of the events. The organization released a statement denying any financial ties to China or any foreign government. They accused Luna and other lawmakers of using "unsubstantiated claims" to silence political opposition. Furthermore, Code Pink has filed an ethics complaint against Luna, labeling her statements as "false and defamatory."
The scrutiny of Code Pink's activities extends beyond this week's incident. In April 2025, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent requests to both the Justice Department and the FBI, asking them to investigate whether Code Pink and The People’s Forum should be required to register as foreign agents under federal law. These requests cited alleged connections between both groups and the Chinese government. During the same hearing that preceded the confrontation, Secretary Rubio addressed the broader issue of foreign-backed domestic activism, noting, "There’s no doubt that when you have people showing up with pre-printed signs 24 hours after Nicholas Maduro was arrested and extradited to the United States, that’s not an organic movement. Someone’s paying for that." The incident underscores ongoing tensions surrounding political discourse and the boundaries of protest within the nation's capital.
