Sen Alex Padilla dragged out of Noem immigration briefing in LA
Democratic US Senator Alex Padilla has been forcibly removed from a news conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles.Noem was offering the latest figures on immigration enforcement in the area, which has led to nearly a week of protests in the city, to members of the news media when Sen Padilla interrupted and started shouting a question.Once removed from the room, the California senator was handcuffed.Padilla's removal caused condemnation on both sides of the aisle, with fellow senators calling the arrest shocking and a "sickening disgrace" and the Trump administration dubbing it "disrespectful political theatre".
"I'm Senator Alex Padilla," he said as he was confronted by authorities. "I have questions for the secretary!" Noem, who was speaking about immigration and the protests in LA, continued addressing reporters and law enforcement officers while the senator was ejected from the room.Padilla's office said he was "forced to the ground and handcuffed" by federal agents when trying to ask the secretary a question, and added that he was not currently being detained. The Department of Homeland Security said Padilla had engaged in "disrespectful political theatre" and that Noem met with the senator after the news briefing.LA Mayor Karen Bass called the incident "absolutely abhorrent and outrageous", adding that the Trump administration's "violent attacks on our city must end".
Padilla told reporters that he was already in the federal building for a previously scheduled meeting. He said he stopped by Noem's news briefing because he and his colleagues have received "little to no information in response" to several immigration-related queries.Padilla, the son of Mexican immigrants, is the most senior Democrat on the Senate's Border Security and Immigration subcommittee."I came to the press conference to hear what she had to say, to see if I could learn any new additional information," he said. "If this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question, you can only imagine what they're doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day labourers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country."He urged Americans across the country to "continue peacefully protesting" the Trump administration and its policies.The DHS in a statement said Padilla didn't identify himself and was not wearing the Senator's pin on his clothing so officers thought he was an attacker. Video footage of the incident shows Padilla saying he was he was a senator as he was being pushed outside the room.
California's Governor Gavin Newsom called on Republican congressional leadership to condemn the detaining of Padilla. "If they can handcuff a U.S. Senator for asking a question, imagine what they will do to you," Newsom wrote on social media.But the White House accused the California senator of storming the press conference, and said he "yelled and lunged toward Secretary Noem". "Padilla didn't want answers; he wanted attention," Abigail Jackson, White House spokesperson said. "Padilla embarrassed himself and his constituents with this immature, theater-kid stunt – but it's telling that Democrats are more riled up about Padilla than they are about the violent riots and assaults on law enforcement in LA."Former vice-president and Trump opponent, Kamala Harris also criticised the move and said the California senator was trying to get answers for his constituents about the ongoing immigration raids in the state. "United States Senator Alex Padilla was representing the millions of Californians who are demanding answers to this Administration's actions in Southern California," she said on Twitter. "This is a shameful and stunning abuse of power."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
A grandmother was shot and killed in a gruesome carjacking. A family member says her murderer should not have been executed
A relative of a grandmother who was viciously murdered during a carjacking more than two decades ago says they never wanted her killer to be put to death - and is now speaking out against President Donald Trump for green-lighting the execution. John Hanson, 61, received the lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester on Thursday morning, becoming the 22nd death row inmate to be executed in the US this year. He was convicted of killing 77-year-old Mary Agnes Bowles after he and another man carjacked and kidnapped her from a Tulsa mall in August 1999. Bowles, a retired banker and community volunteer, was found dead a week later in a remote dirt pit on the outskirts of Owasso, having suffered multiple gunshot wounds in what authorities described as an execution-style killing. Hanson and his accomplice also killed a witness to the crime. After a quarter of a century behind bars, Hanson was declared dead at 10:11am on Thursday. His execution was made possible by the Trump administration, which approved his transfer from federal custody in Louisiana to Oklahoma in February for the sole purpose of carrying out his death sentence. But Bowles' grand-niece, Alana Price, told she never wanted Hanson to be put to death and is 'so upset' at Trump for facilitating his execution, noting that Hanson was 'developmentally disabled.' Mary Agnes Bowles, 77, was shot at least six times. The retired banker volunteered at numerous local organizations, including at a local hospital where she'd logged 11,000 hours in the neonatal unit 'I want the world to know that today's state-sponsored murder of John Hanson has only deepened the grief that I feel over her loss,' Price said on Thursday. 'Each spring when I see the dogwood trees in my neighborhood start to bloom, I'm flooded once again with grief over the loss of my beloved Aunt Mary, who decorated her house with images of their four-petaled flowers. 'Following today's execution, my ongoing grief will also be layered with the weight of another murder – the state-sanctioned murder of John Hanson.' Hanson's death, Price said, left her with a 'sick feeling of guilt and complicity'. 'Executions like these don't heal violence – they reproduce the violence and make the pain worse, forcing everyone in our society to be complicit in murder,' she added. Hanson had been serving life in a federal Louisiana prison for bank robbery and several other federal convictions unrelated to the Bowles case. Federal officials transferred him to Oklahoma custody in March to adhere to President Donald Trump's executive order to more actively support the death penalty. Hanson's execution had previously been set for December 15, 2022, but the Biden administration blocked his transfer to Oklahoma, in keeping with the former president's opposition to capital punishment. His execution was once again thrown into doubt this week after his attorneys argued in a last-minute appeal that Hanson didn't receive a fair clemency hearing last month. They claimed one of the board members who denied the appeal was biased because he worked for the Tulsa County DA when Hanson was prosecuted. A district court judge this week issued a temporary stay halting the execution, but that was later vacated. Like Price, Hanson's attorney, Callie Heller, blasted Hanson's execution as 'an act of pointless cruelty.' Heller claimed that Hanson has autism, and that made him more susceptible to being manipulated by his 'dominating co-defendant,' Victor Miller. But not all of Bowles' relatives were against Hanson being put to death. Her niece, Sara Parker Mooney, called for reforms to death row practices in an interview with USA Today, insisting Hanson should've been executed years ago. 'Capital punishment is not an effective form of justice when it takes 26 years,' said Mooney, who travelled from Texas to Oklahoma to witness his death. 'Respectfully, if the state is going to continue to execute individuals, a better process is needed. 'This existing process is broken.' Jacob Thurman, the son of Jerald Thurman, who was the witness killed by Hanson and Miller, also celebrated Hanson's death. 'I feel like now we can finally be at peace with this,' he said. 'I feel like we have some closure and our families can pick up the pieces now and move forward.' Thurman gave specific thanks to US Attorney General Pam Bondi for ordering Hanson's transfer so that 'Oklahoma can carry out this just sentence.' Hanson did not request anything special for his final meal on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Department of Corrections said. He was served what all of his other inmates received: chicken pot pie, two rolls, carrots, and two fruit cups. Before being administered his lethal dose, he told those gathered to watch his final breath: 'Just forgive me and peace to everyone.' A spiritual adviser stood close by, reading from a Bible as the execution began. Hanson could be heard snoring when the Department of Corrections chief of operations announced he was unconscious, USA Today reported. During his clemency hearing last month, Hanson expressed remorse for his involvement in the crimes and apologized to Bowels and Thurman's families. 'I'm not an evil person,' Hanson said via a video link from the prison. 'I was caught in a situation I couldn't control. I can't change the past, but I would if I could.' Hanson's attorneys acknowledged he participated in the kidnapping and carjacking, but said there was no definitive evidence that he shot and killed Bowles. They painted Hanson as a troubled youth with autism who was controlled and manipulated by the domineering Miller. Mary Bowles was returning to her car at the Promenade Mall in Tulsa on August 31, 1999, when she was ambushed by Hanson and Miller at gunpoint. The two men forced the elderly woman into her own car and drove to an isolated dirt pit near Owasso. The owner of the pit, Jerald Thurman, saw the car pull in. Miller got out and shot Thurman four times, including once in the head, as Bowles watched on helplessly from the backseat, court records state. She asked the two men, 'Do you have kids or anyone who loves you?', prompting Hanson to punch her in the face. Moments later, Miller stopped the car. Hanson forced Bowles out and shot her at least six times, court records say. Thurman's nephew was on the phone with him just before the attack and found his wounded uncle still alive shortly after the shooting. Tragically, Thurman, 44, succumbed to his injuries two weeks later. Bowles' 'significantly decomposed' remains were found on September 7, 1999, more than a week after her abduction. Hanson and Miller, meanwhile, continued on a five-day crime spree, robbing a bank and a video store, before Miller's wife turned the two men into police, following an argument. They were eventually captured two days after Bowles' remains were found. Miller was sentenced to life in prison while Hanson was sentenced to the death penalty. Later, Miller bragged that he was the one who'd shot Bowles, not Hanson, court records say. Hundreds would turn out to mourn Bowles' death. She volunteered at numerous local organizations, including at a local hospital where she'd logged 11,000 hours in the neonatal unit caring for critically ill newborns.
Telegraph
27 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Unlike lying Starmer, Trump is tackling immigration and keeping his promises
We've all said plenty about Donald Trump. Recently, I was asked to give him marks out of ten for his presidency so far. Reflecting on Ukraine, Greenland, Canada and tariffs, I couldn't go higher than three or four. But, say what you like about him, at least he's doing what he has said he would do. America voted to end DEI excesses and the absurdity of biological males in female sports, and he's doing it. They voted to tackle illegal immigration, and he's acting on it in LA. They voted to put America first, and he is. Now compare that with our leader: Keir Starmer. It's laughable, isn't it? He has U-turned and flip-flopped so much that I'm thoroughly car sick; there's no consistency in his beliefs and actions. And I don't mean the silly, though revealing stuff, like pretending to be a 'friend' of Jezza and convincing gullible Labour members that he would be 'continuity Corbyn', and then expelling his predecessor as Labour leader from the party. Nor the annoying bits, like insisting on a longer lockdown but secretly meeting his voice coach. I mean the crucial issues, like promising not to raise taxes, and pledging that council taxes and energy bills would go down, and failing to deliver on all these points. And also convincing the WASPI women, farmers and pensioners that he was on their side and then betraying all of them. His U-turn on the winter-fuel allowance was especially shocking. But it's on immigration that we have the most cause for complaint. Starmer and co repeatedly insisted that Rwanda was a dud and that once the evil Tories were safely dispatched, Labour would simply 'smash the gangs'. What codswallop. Not only have they failed to do any such thing, but they have presided over a gigantic 40 per cent rise in crossings. Why make a promise you know you can't keep? But that's like asking a scorpion why it stings. Yet, some folk are still convinced Starmer's 'a man of integrity'. A friend of mine uttered that very sentiment over lunch last week: for the first time in many moons, I was simply stunned into silence. In any case, if Starmer got anywhere near his promise to tackle immigration his own party would tear itself apart. A sizeable chunk of them want open borders, and the more sensible ones still wouldn't support anything to disincentivise migrants. They see Starmer hobnobbing with Italy's Meloni and hear him, with his fingers crossed behind his back, talk about an 'island of strangers' and they immediately wonder if they've inadvertently elected Rupert Lowe. Well, I'm increasingly of the view that the Prime Minister doesn't strongly believe in anything, as Patrick Maguire and Gabriel Pogrund argue in Get In: the inside story of Labour under Starmer. But is it too much to ask for a Prime Minister with some principles? The guy in the White House, love him or not, has some – as he is proving right now in facing down the riots in America and standing up for his nation's borders. Sadly, we're going to have to wait a few more years for the possibility of of a leader with some backbone in Britain.
The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
Oil prices jump after Israel's attack on Iran and it could lead to higher gas costs
Oil prices have jumped following Israel's attack on Iran as experts warn the conflict could lead to higher gas costs. The price of a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude jumped 6.8 percent to $72.65 Friday. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 7.1 percent to $74.30 a barrel. '#GasPrices will likely start to rise across much of the country later this evening in response to Israel's attacks on Iran, which have caused oil prices to surge. For now, I expect the rise to be noticable, but limited. Approx 10-25c/gal thus far, but this could change,' industry expert Patrick De Haan wrote on X. Iran is one of the world's major producers of oil and if a wider war escalates, it could slow the flow of Iranian oil to U.S. customers and elsewhere. 'Iran knows full well that Trump i s focused on lower energy prices and actions by Iran that impact Middle East supply and consequently raise oil prices damage Trump politically,' Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates consulting firm, told CNN. Past attacks involving Iran and Israel have seen prices for oil spike initially, only to fall later 'once it became clear that the situation was not escalating and there was no impact on oil supply,' said Richard Joswick, head of near-term oil at S&P Global Commodity Insights. The Secretary of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries warned industry executives not to 'raise false alarms.' 'There are currently no developments in supply or market dynamics that warrant unnecessary measures,' the organization said on X. Israel said 200 fighter jets took part in strikes on more than 100 targets in Iran overnight in an escalation that threatens to spark a wider conflict in the Middle East. Israel said Iran has launched more than 100 drones towards Israel in response - but Tehran has denied these reports, according to Iranian media. Trump firmly put the U.S. in Israel's corner after the attacks. The president said he'd given Tehran 'chance after chance to make a deal' that would have headed off the strikes by putting restrictions on the country's nuclear weapons program and complained that Iranian negotiators had never been able to come to an agreement. 'I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to 'just do it,' but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn't get it done,' he wrote on Truth Social. Trump also said he'd warned Iran that Israel 'has a lot' of American-made military hardware — 'the best and most lethal' — and is quite proficient in using it. 'Certain Iranian hardliner's spoke bravely, but they didn't know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!' he added. 'Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE,' the president wrote.
