A Senator Was Forcibly Removed And Handcuffed At A Press Conference, And Now Gavin Newsom's Response To It Is Going Mega Viral
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was holding a press conference when Senator Alex Padilla from California came into the room saying, "I am Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary."
That's when he was forcefully removed from the room and handcuffed.
Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin captured the video that is now ALL over social media:
BillMelugin_/Twitter: @BillMelugin_
Another video obtained by NBC News shows the senator being handcuffed:
jacobsoboroff/Twitter: @jacobsoboroff
Melugin reported that he was temporarily detained, saying, "I'm told Noem is in a room meeting with Senator Padilla right now. After I stopped recording, my team witnessed him being taken to the ground by FBI personnel and he was temporarily detained. Awaiting further details on what happened out of our view."
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He also said Noem and Padilla had a meeting after, "Noem tells me she had a 10-15 minute meeting with Padilla and they swapped phone numbers. Says it was cordial and beneficial. He had concerns about ICE operations & they opened up a line of communication. Said it was a good meeting and things are okay between the two of them (outside of all the political reaction happening now)."
People are obviously pretty shook up by this.
"no longer shocking that we are living under corrupt authoritarian thugs," one person commented.
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Another person said it "Feels like uncharted territory."
And this person wrote, "I've never seen a sitting United States Senator being forcibly confronted in this way."
A TON of politicians are also chiming in, like Representative Becca Balint from Vermont, saying, "There's no word to describe physically assaulting a US Senator for attending a press conference and asking a question other than authoritarianism."
Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut called it a "very, very serious moment," saying, "This is a United States Senator being violently removed from a public briefing. Many of are reaching out to Senator Padilla right now and there are facts we need to gather, but this is a very, very serious moment."
Rep. Mark Takano of California said, "They cannot deal with dissent of any kind. They will rough up citizens, protesters, even U.S. Senators."
CBS journalist Alan He reported Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski said, "I've seen that one clip. It's horrible. It is shocking at every level. It's not the America I know."
And Gavin Newsom's response is the most viral of all: "If they can handcuff a U.S. Senator for asking a question, imagine what they will do to you."
Homeland Security responded to Newsom's tweet, saying, "Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theatre 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. @SecretService thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately. Secretary Noem met with Senator Padilla after and held a 15 minute meeting."
Governor Newsom's Press Office responded to their response, saying, "'Didn't identify himself'? It's the FIRST THING out of his mouth in the video. You've detained a mayor. A judge. A union leader. Now a U.S. Senator. You've deployed Marines on U.S. soil. If a President did this abroad, we'd have a word for it: Dictator."
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