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Senator handcuffed, forcibly removed from press conference on ICE protests
Democratic Senator Alex Padilla of California was forcibly removed from a press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday in Los Angeles. Law enforcement officers took him to the ground and placed him in handcuffs.
Noem was addressing the media about the federal response to protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in the area. Padilla entered the room and approached Noem's podium. Police officers intervened, pulled him out into a hallway, restrained him on the floor and handcuffed him.
Immigration raids conducted in downtown Los Angeles last week have triggered several days of protests in the country's second-largest city.
Video shows Padilla identifying himself as a senator and stating that he wished to ask a question. He serves as the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety.
Later, Padilla was seen without handcuffs speaking to Noem privately in a conference room. Noem told Fox News they spoke for 10 to 15 minutes and exchanged phone numbers.
If that's what they do to a United States Senator with a question, imagine what they do to farm workers, day laborers, cooks, and the other nonviolent immigrants they are targeting in California and across the country. Or any American that dares to speak up. I will not stop… pic.twitter.com/TUgT060yx2
— Alex Padilla (@AlexPadilla4CA) June 12, 2025
She said, 'We sat down and had a conversation and we probably disagree on 90 per cent of the topics, but we agreed and exchanged phone numbers and we will continue to talk and share information and that is the way it should be in this country.' She added, 'I wish he would've acted that way in the beginning instead of creating a scene like this.'
No charges expected
Noem said she did not expect any charges to be filed. She explained that no one in the room recognised Padilla and that he appeared to be 'lunging forward'. She added, 'Coming into a press conference like this is political theatre.'
Padilla says he was seeking answers
Padilla later told reporters he attended the news conference because Homeland Security had not responded to his questions about immigration and deportation policy.
'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, stressing that he came peacefully. 'If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, I can only imagine what they are doing to farmworkers, to cooks, to day labourers throughout the Los Angeles community,' he said.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Padilla did not identify himself before approaching the podium.
Democrats condemn senator being manhandled
Former Vice-President Kamala Harris described the incident as 'a shameful and stunning abuse of power'. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that the way Padilla was handled was 'un-American' and 'unpatriotic'.
'(Senator Padilla) was at that press conference doing his job, asking questions about what is taking place in California, the state that he represents and on behalf of the American people, and he was recklessly and aggressively manhandled. That was unacceptable. It was unconscionable. It was unpatriotic. It's un-American, and every single person who was involved in manhandling Senator Padilla should be held accountable to the full extent of the law,' Jeffries told reporters.
Noem pledged to carry on with the Trump administration's immigration crackdown despite waves of unrest across the US. The wave of demonstrations, including both peaceful marches and violent confrontations with police, led the president to deploy the military.
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