Shorouk Express
Police are still investigating an allegation that Florida Republican congressman Cory Mills physically assaulted a woman at his Washington, D.C. apartment last week, as questions continue to surround the case, which has involved recanted allegations and a denied request for an arrest warrant.
“This is an active criminal investigation and there is no further information on the case to provide at this time,” the Washington Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement to The Independent on Tuesday.
Sarah Raviani, 27, called police to Mills’ apartment last Wednesday, reportedly telling a 911 operator that she had been assaulted by the Republican lawmaker, a married father of two.
The lawmaker “vehemently denies any wrongdoing whatsoever, and is confident any investigation will clear this matter quickly,” his office told The Associated Press.
“Both myself and the other individual said that what they’ [had claimed] took place never took place and that’s been reported multiple times,” Mills added in an interview with Politico Monday night.
A police report provided to The Independent describes the initial 911 call as alleging a simple assault with hands or feet, involving Raviani as the victim.
According to a previous police report obtained by NBC Washington, Raviani, a cofounder of the group Iranians for Trump, told police that Mills (her significant other for over a year) grabbed her, shoved her, and pushed her out of the door,” leaving her with bruises, then allowed police to listen in on a phone call between her and the congressman in which he allegedly instructed her to “lie about the origin of her bruises.”
When police encountered Raviani, she was “physically shaking and scared,” according to that report, circumstances that would typically prompt an immediate arrest of an alleged assailant.
Raviani then recanted her claims, including about the origin of the bruises, when officers said Mills would be placed under arrest, according to the report.
Mills was not arrested on Wednesday, and officers initially classified the call as a family disturbance, though after commanders reviewed investigative materials it was reclassified as a domestic violent assault investigation, law enforcement sources told The Washington Post.
Raviani now maintains that no physical altercation took place and that she had been drinking and sleep-deprived leading up to the time she called police. She has also said that the bruises and other marks to her arms were sustained during a recent trip to Dubai, not an encounter with Mills.
“While the personal matter in question was emotionally charged, there was no physical altercation,” she said in a statement to Fox 5 DC, adding: “This is a deeply personal matter that is being unfairly exploited for political purposes or other motives.”
Washington police reportedly filed a request for an arrest warrant to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Washington D.C., but the office declined to seek charges on Friday, unnamed officials told the Post, citing insufficient probable cause for an arrest.
“I fully support the decision,” Raviani told the paper.
That office is led by Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Edward Martin Jr., whom the Trump administration appointed last month.
Martin has made headlines and alarmed critics in recent days by claiming to be one of “President Trump’s lawyers,” a highly atypical way of describing the position of being a federal prosecutor.
The Florida Democratic Party accused Martin of “running cover-ups for Republicans” and demanded further investigation.
“The people of Florida deserve answers to these questions and more, especially from the so-called party of ‘law and order’ and ‘family values,’” Florida party chair Nikki Fried told Florida Politics. “The Florida Democratic Party is calling for a continued investigation into both Mills’ actions and the inaction of the interim U.S. Attorney.
The Independent has contacted the U.S. Attorney’s Office for comment.
The Washington police department is now conducting an internal review of its handling of the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has said in the past it does not comment on uncharged cases.
“I can confirm that there is an internal investigation on making sure that all of our members did what they were supposed to do according to MPD policy,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a press conference Friday.
Mills was recently appointed chairman of the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Intelligence, and is thought to be considering a Senate run in 2026.
