California Sen. Alex Padilla handcuffed, forced out of news conference in LA
The normally mild, measured California Sen. Alex Padilla was forcibly ousted, handcuffed and thrown to the floor after trying to question Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a press conference in Los Angeles Thursday.
Noem was in L.A. to discuss the Trump administration's response to immigration protests in the area when Padilla, D-Calif., said 'You insist on exaggerating,' according to a video from Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin.
Two men then got near Padilla and began to physically escort him out.
As one man pushed him, Padilla said, 'I have questions for the secretary, because the fact of the matter is that half a dozen … criminals …'
The rest is unclear.
As he spoke, several others joined in to push him out as he continued to resist. He can be seen in the hallway down on his knees as a uniformed man handcuffs him.
Padilla, the first Latino from California in the Senate, is the son of Mexican immigrants.
Noem said Padilla had not sought to meet with her about the protests.
'I think everybody in America would agree that that was inappropriate,' she said, of Padilla interrupting her, according to the Associated Press.
Padilla 'was in the federal building to receive a briefing with General (Gregory) Guillot and was listening to Secretary Noem's press conference,' Padilla's team said in a statement after the incident. 'He tried to ask the Secretary a question, and was forcibly removed by federal agents, forced to the ground and handcuffed. He is not currently detained, and we are working to get additional information.'
Later Thursday, Homeland Security posted a statement on X about the incident.
'Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theater and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem. Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers' repeated commands.'
'(Secret Service) thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately. Secretary Noem met with Senator Padilla after and held a 15 minute meeting,' the agency said. No details about the meeting were provided.
President Donald Trump ordered National Guard troops and Marines into the Los Angeles area after the protests erupted Saturday night. Padilla and other state Democratic officials have said Trump exaggerated the scope of the protests.
After the Padilla incident Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom called the shoving 'outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful.'
'Trump and his shock troops are out of control,' Newsom said. 'This must end now.'
In the Senate, lawmakers were looking at the video on their cellphones, and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer delivered an angry response on the Senate floor.
'This sickened my stomach, a U.S. senator being manhandled,' the New York Democrat said. The incident, he said, 'reeks of totalitarianism. This is not what democracies do. Sen. Padilla was there legitimately in that building to ask questions of what's going on in California.'
Padilla's California colleague, Sen. Adam Schiff, said in a Senate speech he 'watched with horror' as Padilla was forced out. He worried that something bigger was at play.
'This is how you lose a democracy, actions like today,' the California Democrat said. 'Will this be roundly condemned or will we just fall down some partisan line again and see another leap towards autocracy in this country?'
Other Democrats echoed that concern.
'What happens when that voice is thrown to the floor and hand-tied?' asked Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.
'This is crazy. This administration has not communicated with members of Congress, they have not communicated with the State of California, and they have not communicated with local law enforcement,' said Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena.
'Senator Padilla was carrying out his duties as a representative of our state.'
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