An aide to Rep. Sam Farr, a Democrat of California, will testify today as part of an investigation aimed at determining whether Rep. Cynthia McKinney, a Democrat of Georgia, will face charges for allegedly hitting a Capitol police officer on the chest while entering Washington’s Longworth House Office Building, according to Fox News.

A second congressional staff aide, whose name is being kept confidential, had also been called to testify, indicating that the U.S. attorney’s office is convening a grand jury to establish whether Ms. McKinney should be prosecuted, the network reported.

“There would be no reason to go to the U.S. attorney’s office if we didn’t want to have an arrest,” the network quoted the outgoing U.S. Capitol police chief, Terrence Gainer, as saying. “I’m troubled by all the economics going into this, and the U.S. attorney’s office here has a lot of other crimes to look at … But on the other hand, the member’s not acknowledging that what she did was incorrect and now she’s putting up smoke and mirrors that we’re racist and it was done because she’s black. That’s wrong.”

Ms. McKinney was stopped by police when bypassing a metal detector at a Longworth House Office Building security checkpoint. Elected members of the House of Representatives wearing a lapel pin identifying them as such are not required to undergo security checks. When the congresswoman was not recognized by the officer, she was allegedly grabbed by the arm, at which point she reportedly struck the officer in the chest more than once. The six-term Democratic congresswoman recently changed her hairstyle, but said the officers should recognize House members by sight, and characterized the incident as an example of racial profiling. Ms. McKinney has not admitted to hitting the officer.

“We have had 39 young people visiting from the state of Georgia, all of whom were African-American. And they had a very, very negative experience with the Capitol Hill Police. Two hundred fifty black police officers have filed a lawsuit against the Capitol Police,” Fox quoted Ms. McKinney as saying. “What I have suggested and what many other people have, quite frankly, suggested is that the issue of racial profiling needs to be one that is discussed and dealt with by the American people.”

“Cynthia McKinney is a racist,” Tom DeLay, still embroiled in a scandal of his own, told Fox News, according to the Washington Post. “This is incredible arrogance that sometimes hits these members of Congress, but especially Cynthia McKinney.”

Ms. McKinney has had trouble building support among her colleagues as well as those on the other side of the aisle. The Washington Post reported that when Ms. McKinney arrived on the floor yesterday, several of her fellow Democrats turned their backs on her or moved away as she walked toward them. Fox noted that several Republican members yesterday wore pins bearing the message “I [Heart] Capitol Police” as part of a House resolution to support the officers’ work.

“I don’t think it’s fair to attack the Capitol Police and I think it’s time that we show our support for them,” the network quoted Rep. Patrick McHenry, a Republican of North Carolina, as saying. “These men and women deserve a pat on the back, not a punch on the chest,” the Washington Post quoted Mr. McHenry as saying.

“What I would say, however, is that [this is] much ado about a hairdo,” Ms. McKinney told CNN’s Soledad O’Brien, according to the Washington Post.