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A prominent Rhode Island Democrat was captured on police bodycam video asking an officer, “You know who I am?” before her arrest during a recent traffic stop.
Maria Bucci, 51, who is the chairwoman of the Democratic committee in Cranston – the second-largest city in the state – is now facing a misdemeanor DUI charge following a traffic stop on Dec. 18 in East Greenwich, according to media reports.
“You know who I am right?” Bucci is heard telling an East Greenwich police officer just moments after he said he smelled alcohol in her breath and described her driving as erratic.
“I don’t know who you are miss,” the officer responds, before adding, “You can start throwing out names and start doing out what you need to do, it’s not going to work with me, I’m telling you right now, I’m not the guy for that.”
RHODE ISLAND PROSECUTOR IN VIRAL ARREST VIDEO PLACED ON UNPAID LEAVE
Rhode Island Democrat Maria Bucci was heard telling a police officer, “you know who I am?” during a Dec. 18, 2025 traffic stop in East Greenwich, R.I. (East Greenwich Police Department)
The bodycam footage shows the officer trying to lead Bucci through a series of sobriety tests.
Bucci, a former Cranston mayoral candidate, previously served on the City Council from 2004 to 2008 and also launched an unsuccessful bid for a Rhode Island House of Representatives seat last year, the Cranston Herald reported.
At one point during the traffic stop, Bucci is heard saying, “Call my husband right now, and call the attorney general and everybody else in town, cause this is disgusting, God forbid I was a Black person, I’d be arrested.”
WATCH: FOOTAGE SHOWS BLUE STATE PROSECUTOR WARNING OFFICERS THEY’LL ‘REGRET’ ARRESTING HER: ‘I’M AN AG!’
Bodycam footage released of Bucci’s arrest shows an East Greenwich Police Department officer trying to lead her through a series of sobriety tests on Dec. 18, 2025. (East Greenwich Police Department)
The officer eventually takes Bucci into custody. As she is placed in handcuffs, she says “you’re a d—” and looks towards the body camera.
“Like I am not drinking, you’re a loser,” she adds.
At the beginning of the video, Bucci told the officer she had a glass of wine and had attended a Christmas party.
Bucci, who is expected to be arraigned on Jan. 5, was released on a $1,000 personal recognizance, according to WPRI.
As Bucci was placed in handcuffs, she is heard telling the officer “you’re a d—.” She also stared into the body camera and said, “gimme the camera.” (East Greenwich Police Department)
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Bucci and the Rhode Island Democratic Party did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — Two people are dead and another person seriously hurt after a crash involving two vehicles on the highway in Warwick Saturday.
Rhode Island State Police said the crash happened around 1:34 p.m. on the ramp from Route 113 West to I-95 South.
According to police, a Hyundai SUV that was driving in the middle lane of the highway started to drift to the right, crossed the first lane, and then crossed onto the on-ramp lane. The car struck the guardrail twice before driving through the grass median.
The Hyundai then struck the driver’s side of a Mercedes SUV that was on the ramp, causing the Mercedes to roll over and come to a rest. The impact sent the Hyundai over the guardrail and down an embankment.
The driver of the Hyundai, a 73-year-old man, and his passenger, a 69-year-old woman, were both pronounced dead at the hospital.
A woman who was in the Mercedes was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in critical condition.
State police said all lanes of traffic were reopened by 4:30 p.m.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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A federal judge on Friday tossed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit aiming to force Rhode Island to hand over its voter information as part of the Trump administration’s push to acquire voter data from several states.
Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy wrote that federal law does not allow the DOJ “to conduct the kind of fishing expedition it seeks here,” siding with Rhode Island election officials. She added that the DOJ did not provide evidence to suggest that Rhode Island violated election law.
McElroy, a Trump appointee, wrote that she sided with the similar decision in Oregon. That decision ruled that the DOJ was not entitled to unredacted voter registration lists.
“Absent from the demand are any factual allegations suggesting that Rhode Island may be violating the list maintenance requirements,” she said in her ruling.
Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore (D) praised McElroy’s decision. He said in a statement that the Trump administration “seems to have no problem taking actions that are clear Constitutional overreaches, regularly meddling in responsibilities that are the rights of the states.”
“Today’s decision affirms our position: the United States Department of Justice has no legal right to – or need for – the personally-identifiable information in our voter file,” he said. “Voter list maintenance is a responsibility entrusted to the states, and I remain confident in the steps we take here in Rhode Island to keep our list as accurate as possible.”
The Hill reached out to the DOJ for comment.
The DOJ called for the voter lists as it investigated Rhode Island’s compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which allowed Americans to register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license.
The DOJ sued at least 30 states, as well as Washington, D.C., in December demanding their respective voter data. This data includes birth dates, names and partial Social Security numbers.
At least 12 states have given or said they will give the DOJ their voter registration lists, according to a tracker operated by the Brennan Center for Justice.
The department stated after it lost a similar suit against Massachusetts earlier this month that it had “sweeping powers” to access the voter data and that, if states fail to comply, courts have a “limited, albeit vital, role” in directing election officers on behalf of the administration to produce the records. The DOJ cited the Civil Rights Act as being intended to unearth alleged election law violations.
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