Why a California senator was handcuffed and forcibly removed from a govt briefing
Law enforcement officials removed California's Democratic Senator Alex Padilla from an official briefing on Thursday (June 12), amid the escalating row between the state and the US federal government over immigration raids and protests in Los Angeles.
Padilla, 52, was seen at a briefing by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristie Noem, attempting to ask questions. 'Sir! Sir! Hands off!' he said, as a few officers dragged him out of the room. 'I am Sen. Alex Padilla. I have a question for the secretary,' he said. Padilla was then made to kneel in an adjoining corridor and then pinned to the ground with his hands behind his back.
Noem claimed in a post on X that the senator had 'interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem'. Padilla later addressed the press, saying he was 'almost immediately forcibly removed from the room' after he asked a question, and that he was forced to the ground and handcuffed. He said he was not arrested or detained.
'If this is how this administration 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… we will hold this administration accountable,' he said. Here is what to know.
Padilla is one of the two senators from the border state of California (each US state sends two representatives to the Senate), which has traditionally been a Democratic stronghold.
He is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the son of Mexican immigrants, and a Los Angeles native. Padilla has frequently cited his background while talking about immigration-related issues, which have taken centre stage in US politics in recent years.
His official website states, 'After graduating from MIT, Alex returned home eager to begin his career. However, a rising tide of anti-immigrant sentiment in California at the time drew Alex towards politics. He knew he had to take a stand against cynical rhetoric demonizing people like his parents, friends, and neighbors.'
How does this incident figure among the recent protests?
At the federal building in Los Angeles, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she would continue the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Since last Friday (June 6), the federal immigration agency US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested people and carried out raids across multiple cities with the stated aim of acting against illegal immigrants with criminal records.
Many of these cities have significant Latino populations, and in response to the raids, several collectives and individuals have protested against ICE. A few instances of looting and violence have been reported, which has led to Republicans accusing Democrats of shielding those involved. Many Democrats, including Padilla, have attempted to distinguish between the majority of peaceful protestors with those engaging in vandalism.
US President Donald Trump has commented on the situation and described California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom as 'incompetent'. He ordered the National Guard and the US Marines into the state and did not take Newsom's consent, something the governor flagged as an overreach.
The state of California has now sued the federal government over the deployment of the National Guard. Soon after Noem's comments, US District Judge Charles Breyer temporarily restrained the deployment, saying it was illegal and exceeded Trump's statutory authority. According to the AFP, Breyer said the violence fell 'far short' of the 'rebellion' Trump described to justify calling in the guardsmen. There was 'no evidence of organized, as apart from sporadic or impromptu, violence' during the protests, he said.
However, an appeals court paused the order just two and a half hours later, as the White House launched an appeal that could make it all the way to the Supreme Court.
(With inputs from Associated Press)
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