Video challenges – Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said activist co-founder Medea Benjamin “smacked” her outside the Capitol and promised she would file charges. Video posted online shows Benjamin following Luna and asking about U.S. sanctions on Cuba, with Luna confronting her
Outside the Capitol on Wednesday, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna told the public she’d been assaulted—then a clip surfaced that challenged her version of events.
Luna. a Republican congresswoman from Florida. said she confronted Medea Benjamin. the co-founder of the activist group CODEPINK. after Luna questioned U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio about “Code Pink and their ties to the CCP.” In a post on X on June 3. 2026. Luna wrote that Benjamin’s organization followed her out. “berated” her. and that Benjamin’s “head person here in DC smacked me.” She added. “I will be filing charges.”.
The video circulating online. posted by TMZ. shows Benjamin following Luna outside the Capitol and questioning her about Rubio’s sanctions against Cuba. In the footage, Benjamin’s hand appears to brush Luna’s arm at one point. Luna then says, “Wait, you touched me.” Benjamin begins apologizing, saying the contact was inadvertent. Luna responds, “It doesn’t matter. You just touched me. You’re gonna walk away right now. or else I’m gonna call Capitol Police.” Benjamin then walks away without any further incident shown in the clip.
CODEPINK later disputed Luna’s account on X, writing: “Nobody hit her. Instead of answering for the war crimes she supports. this AIPAC-funded congresswoman continues to lie about activists.” Luna kept pressing her claim online. saying she “smack(ed)” Benjamin’s arm and arguing that any contact crossed a line. In a separate X post. Luna wrote. “I couldn’t care less how much random Democrats want to defend what happened. You don’t get to touch me. You don’t get to hit my arm. You don’t get to come to my office and scream and yell. You can hate my politics all you want, but if you touch me, you cross the line.”.
After the incident, Luna told TMZ she had given statements to U.S. Capitol Police and expected criminal charges to be filed. She said. “Ultimately. they (Capitol Police) determine whether or not we can actually press charges. but I think they have more than enough evidence. ” and added that she thinks “without a doubt” Benjamin will be arrested. Luna also pointed to the existence of video footage. saying. “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.”.
U.S. Capitol Police, in a statement provided to HuffPost, said they cannot “discuss any potential investigations.” It remains unclear whether any charges have been brought against Benjamin stemming from the incident.
The sequence is stark because both sides describe the same moment—yet the public record hinges on how a brief touch is interpreted: Luna frames it as a “smack,” while the clip shows a confrontation that follows an apparent brush of her arm, followed by Benjamin walking away after apologizing.
As Capitol Police declined to comment on any potential investigation. the central question for lawmakers and the public is less about the confrontation itself and more about what happens next—whether the evidence Luna says is “more than enough” leads to charges. or whether the incident ends without criminal action.
United States politics Capitol Police Anna Paulina Luna Medea Benjamin CODEPINK Marco Rubio sanctions on Cuba assault claim X post election year politics