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The felony-convicted husband of progressive “squad” lawmaker Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., slapped a phone out of a reporter’s hands Monday inside a city hall building after they attempted to approach the congresswoman to ask her a question about alleged childcare fraud in Minnesota.
“Congresswoman Pressley, do you support –” the interviewer could be heard asking as he approached Pressley with his phone camera on record before Conan Harris, Pressley’s husband who spent 10 years in prison on felony drug trafficking charges, smacked the phone out of the questioner’s hand.
“Sir, you cannot take my phone out of my hand,” the questioner could be heard saying, before the phone was picked back up and returned to focus. Harris spent 10 years in prison on a drug trafficking charge before marrying Pressley, who said she draws from his experience of reintegrating into regular society after leaving prison to help inform how she advocates for incarcerated, or previously incarcerated, individuals.
COMER VOWS MINNESOTA FRAUD PROBE WILL EXPAND TO OTHER STATES AMID MOUNTING SCRUTINY
The incident took place Monday at Chelsea City Hall located in Chelsea, Massachusetts.
U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., (left) is seen juxtaposed next to an image of her husband Conan Harris (right). (Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the cameraman tried to focus the picture on Harris after his phone was knocked out of his hand, but Harris was seen walking into what appeared to be a bathroom, or some type of room off the hallway they were located in, once he was able to re-focus the camera.
Instead, the interviewer went back to Pressley and attempted a second time to get his question in.
“Congresswoman Pressley, do you support President Trump investigating Somali childcare fraud in Minnesota?” he asked as the Massachusetts Democrat walked away, guarded by her entourage of staffers. “Congresswoman Pressley?”
HOUSE GOP BILL COULD TRIGGER SELF-DEPORTATION FOR SOMALI REFUGEES AMID MINNESOTA FRAUD PROBE
Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., (right) and her husband Conan Harris (left). (Joseph PREZIOSO / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
The lawmaker was being pressed on the issue on the same day the Trump administration announced it would be freezing $10 billion in federal funds going to childcare across five blue states, which follows reports of social services fraud involving the Somali community in Minnesota.
The states impacted will be California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York.
An official from the Office of Management and Budget reportedly told Axios that the hold is due to both fraud and the provision of funds to undocumented immigrants.
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Pressley did not respond to Digital’s request for comment.
KSTP reporter Jay Kolls investigated alleged fraud committed at Minnesota daycare centers in January 2025. (Screenshot/KSTP 5)
“The fraud in California, New York and Illinois is far greater than in Minnesota,” Donald Trump’s former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head, Elon Musk, said this week. “My guess for how much fraud is happening nationwide is roughly 10% of the Federal budget, so about $700 billion per year.”
