State Department staffer accused of assaulting colleague in elevator dispute

Ali Motamedi, who works for Jeff Landry, lodged a formal grievance claiming that Gavin Wax, the chief of staff to the undersecretary for public diplomacy, forcibly pushed him in the chest inside an elevator at the State Department’s Harry S. Truman Building. Motamedi’s complaint cites Wax’s threat to “beat the f--- out of you” if he or his family were spoken about again, and describes a brief physical altercation before Wax re-entered the elevator.

Wax, a Trump-favored figure who received a public shout-out from the president, has a reputation for abrasive behavior, according to multiple sources. Other witnesses, such as Charles Yockey, were in the elevator and some say no physical contact occurred, suggesting the dispute may have centered on alleged antisemitic comments made by Motamedi. The State Department’s Office of Special Investigations has opened a probe, though the availability of video evidence remains unclear. The episode has sparked internal worries that Wax’s close ties to Donald Trump could influence the outcome of the investigation.