My Circus Arrest Was Just The Tip Of A Lawfare Iceberg
By Peter Navarro | The Hill | October 8, 2025
OPINION
In Chapter One of my new book, I Went to Prison So You Won’t Have To, I describe the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) part-Kafka, part-Clouseau circus at Reagan National Airport — a swarm of five agents ambushing me and my fiancée over a misdemeanor. Turns out, based on the latest disclosures from Senator Chuck Grassley and the Senate Judiciary Committee, I only got half the story – and grossly undercounted the number of FBI agents involved.
Newly released FBI surveillance logs and internal requests by Senate Grassley as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee now prove what I long suspected: I was not considered armed or dangerous — yet a full-blown public arrest was staged anyway. On June 3, 2022, the Bureau’s Washington Field Office ran a clandestine “FISUR” — physical surveillance — of me and my fiancée from 6:40 a.m. to 10:12 a.m. as we drove to Reagan Airport. The request form explicitly notes “No — subject not armed or dangerous.” I lived literally next door to the FBI, but instead of knocking on my door, they opted for a raid-style ambush at the airport gate — with CNN predictably getting the scoop.