In a hastily arranged press conference at Howard University Friday evening, Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) accused a U.S. Capitol Police officer of touching her inappropriately and instigating a bizarre scuffle at an entrance to the Longworth building Wednesday.

McKinney allegedly hit the officer with her cell phone after he stopped her for identification at a security checkpoint. The officer, whose identity remains unknown, is likely to file assault charges against the congresswoman, two sources told The Hill, which could result in her arrest as early as next week.

Standing against a backdrop of two-dozen Georgia schoolchildren holding signs that read ?God Bless Cynthia? and ?Is Cynthia a Target?? McKinney told a dozen assembled TV cameras that the officer was at fault, implying that her race, gender and politics had played a role in the incident.
…
McKinney and her lawyers announced no immediate plans to press counter charges against the officer, although they did not rule out such an action.

Myart sought to dispel any impression that McKinney had apologized when she said she ?deeply regret[ted]? the incident.

?There is and will not be an apology in this situation,? he avowed.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-Calif.) contradicted reports that the congresswoman had intervened on McKinney?s behalf with the Capitol Police in an attempt to avert her arrest.

Millender-McDonald, who is the senior Democrat on the House Administration Committee and a member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), held a conference call with House Sergeant-At-Arms Wilson Livingood on Wednesday to inquire about the status of the inquiry, said her spokeswoman, Denise Mixon. Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.), chairman of the CBC and a staff member from the office of House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), were also on the call.

?The issue of an arrest was never brought up,? Mixon said. ?She asked him what was going on and asked him to keep her posted.?

Del. Eleanor Holmes-Norton (D-D.C.), another CBC member, spoke with Livingood this afternoon, according to a statement read at McKinney?s press conference, but indicated she was merely seeking information.

It would be ?inappropriate to intervene in a formal criminal investigation,? she said.

…
McKinney said members of the Congressional Black Caucus are backing her, though members of Congress who were supposed to attend Friday’s press conference didn’t show up.
…