‘What will my family think?' Padilla holds back tears as he speaks from Senate floor about shock of arrest at Noem press conference
California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla grew emotional as he took to the Senate floor on Tuesday to speak about being removed from a press conference with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles.
'Last week, when I heard something so blatantly un-American from the Secretary of Homeland Security, a cabinet official. Of course, I was compelled, both as a senator and as an American, to speak up, but before I could even get out my question, I was physically and aggressively forced out of the room,' he said. 'I repeatedly announced I was a United States senator, and I had a question for the secretary, and even as the National Guardsmen and the FBI agent who served as my escorts and brought me into that Press Briefing Room stood by silently, knowing full well who I was.'
Padilla said he was 'pushed and pulled' and that he 'struggled to maintain' his balance.
'I was forced to the ground first, on my knees and then flat on my chest,' he added, noting that he was handcuffed and 'marched down a hallway' as he asked why he was being detained.
'Not once did they tell me why,' said Padilla.
'I pray you never have a moment like this,' he told his fellow senators.
As he concluded his remarks, applause broke out among the senators.
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