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ABC News
8 hours ago
- ABC News
US senator Alex Padilla forcefully removed and handcuffed at Homeland Security press conference
A US senator has been forcefully removed from a press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and handcuffed by officers as he tried to protest recent immigration raids. Video shows Alex Padilla, a representative for California, standing by the front of the press pack as a Secret Service agent on Ms Noem's security detail grabs him by his jacket and shoves him from the room. "I'm Senator Alex Padilla," he shouts in a halting voice. "I have questions for the secretary." Scuffling with officers outside the room, he can be heard yelling, "Hands off!" As the person recording the incident follows the tussle around a corner, Senator Padilla is seen on his knees and then being pushed to the ground and handcuffed in a hallway, with several officers atop him. The senator's aggressive removal from a cabinet secretary's news conference prompted immediate outrage from his Democratic colleagues. Footage of the scuffle in Los Angeles ricocheted through the halls of congress, where stunned Democrats demanded an immediate investigation and characterised the episode as another in a line of mounting threats to democracy by President Donald Trump's administration. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said what he saw "sickened my stomach". "We need immediate answers to what the hell went on," the New York senator said from the Senate floor. In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said Senator Padilla "chose disrespectful political theatre" and Secret Service agents "thought he was an attacker". The statement claimed Senator Padilla did not identify himself, but video shows he did as he was being pushed from the room. "Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers' repeated commands," the statement said, adding "officers acted appropriately". Emerging afterward, Senator Padilla said he was removed while demanding answers about the Trump administration's "increasingly extreme immigration enforcement actions". He said he and his colleagues had received little to no response to their questions in recent weeks, so he attended the briefing for more information. "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, and throughout California, and throughout the country," he said. Ms Noem told Fox LA afterward that she had a "great" conversation with Senator Padilla after the scuffle, but called his approach "something that I don't think was appropriate at all". The White House has accused the senator of grandstanding. "Padilla didn't want answers; he wanted attention," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. "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." The fracas in Los Angeles came just days after Democratic Representative LaMonica McIver was indicted on federal charges alleging she assaulted and interfered with immigration officers outside a detention centre in New Jersey. That incident occurred as Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested for trying to join a congressional oversight visit at the facility. Democrats have framed the charges as intimidation efforts by the Trump administration. It also follows days of rising tension between Trump and Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom over the federal military intervention in the state. In a speech earlier this week, the Mr Newsom warned "democracy is under assault before our eyes". Senator Padilla is the son of immigrants from Mexico and has been a harsh critic of Mr Trump and his mass deportations agenda. In a social media post, he argued the president "isn't targeting criminals in his mass deportation agenda, he is terrorizing communities, breaking apart families and putting American citizens in harm's way". In 2021, Senator Padilla became the state's first Latino senator when he was selected by Newsom to fill Kamala Harris' Senate seat after she was elected vice president. At the time, he was the state's chief elections officer. Democratic senators quickly gathered in the chamber to denouncing the treatment of their colleague — a well-liked and respected senator — and urged Americans to understand what was happening. Senator Elizabeth Warren said Mr Trump was making the US "look more and more like a fascist state". "Will any Republican senator speak up for our democracy?" she pleaded. House Speaker Mike Johnson accused Mr Padilla of "charging" Ms Noem and suggested the behaviour "rises to the level of a censure". "My view is it was wildly inappropriate," Mr Johnson told reporters outside the House chamber. Democrats walking past shouted over him, "That's a lie!" "A sitting member of Congress should not act like that," Mr Johnson said, loudly speaking over reporters' questions. "It's beneath a member of Congress; it's beneath the US senator." AP
News.com.au
2 days ago
- News.com.au
NATO learns as Ukraine's 'creativity' changes battlefield
Ukraine's "creativity", including its massive "Spider's web" drone attack deep inside Russia, holds profound lessons for Western militaries, the top NATO commander overseeing battlefield innovation told AFP. "What the Ukrainians did in Russia was a Trojan horse -- and the trojan horse was thousands of years ago," French Admiral Pierre Vandier, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, said in an interview. "Today, we see this kind of tactic being reinvented by technical and industrial creativity." Vandier said the operation showed how crucial innovation and adaptation were for victory, as modern warfare changes at lightning speed. "It was a real coup." "We are entering a dynamic era where armies must rely on both major planning but also adaptive planning," the navy commander said. "We will witness continuous innovation where, week by week, month by month or year by year, we will be able to invent things we hadn't anticipated." - 'Must act quickly' - Faced with the Russian threat, NATO this week adopted new objectives for its defence capabilities to ensure it will be able to repel Moscow. But Western intelligence agencies have warned that the Kremlin is reconstituting its forces at a pace far outstripping NATO and could be ready to attack the alliance in as little as four years. "Time is truly a crucial parameter. We must act quickly," Vandier said. The admiral, who previously commanded France's flagship Charles De Gaulle aircraft carrier, said NATO needed to amass the forces to dissuade any adversary from trying an attack. "When you say 'I'm defending myself', you have the weapons to defend. When you say you deter, you have the weapons to deter," he said. "That's what should prevent war -- making the adversary think: "Tomorrow morning, I won't win." NATO countries under pressure from US President Donald Trump are expected to agree a major increase in their defence spending target at a summit in The Hague this month. That should see a dramatic surge in spending on military hardware. But if cheap Ukrainian drones can inflict billions of dollars in damage on Russian bombers, is it still worth investing in vastly expensive systems? "No-one in the military sphere will tell you that we can do without what we'll call traditional equipment," Vandier said. "However, we are certain we need new equipment to complement it." Officials say that over 70 percent of battlefield casualties in Ukraine are caused by drones. But while drones are indispensable in modern warfare, they are not omnipotent. "Today, you won't cross the Atlantic with a 10-meter-long (33-foot-long) drone. You won't easily locate submarines with such tools," Vandier said. "If they accompany your large platforms, you'll be able to achieve much better results at much lower costs." - Integrating new technologies - The admiral, who works out of NATO's US base in Norfolk, Virginia, said the major challenge was "integrating new technologies and new combat methods, based on what we've witnessed in Ukraine". NATO and Ukraine have established a centre in Poland designed to help the alliance learn lessons from Russia's invasion of its neighbour. Artificial Intelligence and robotics are also increasingly having an impact and are set to help reshape the battlefield. "All modern armies will have piloted and non-piloted capabilities," Vandier said. "It's much more efficient to deliver ammunition with a ground robot than with a squad of soldiers who could face a 155-millimeter (six-inch) shell." This transformation of military capabilities within the alliance, which NATO aims to expand by at least 30 percent over coming years, will come at a significant cost, estimated in hundreds of billions of euros (dollars). Vandier insisted that while the financial effort was "substantial" it was "fully realistic". "Today, we have all the tools. We have the engineering. We have the expertise. We have the technology. So, we need to get started," he said.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- News.com.au
EU ambassador warns of ‘worrying signs' from China
China is showing 'worrying signs' of deeper alignment with Russia's anti-West agenda, the EU's top diplomat in Australia has warned. The caution has come as Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin continue to step up co-operation against a backdrop of the raging war in Ukraine and simmering tensions in the Indo-Pacific. Ambassador Gabriele Visentin said on Wednesday what happens in Australia's neck of the woods is 'completely intertwined' with what happens in Europe. 'I cannot possibly comment on the choice that the Australian government has on its defence policies,' the EU's envoy told the National Press Club. 'What I can say is that there is … a clear link between the Chinese and the Russian visions of what the new international rules-based order should be. 'We have seen maybe some worrying signs of military scaling up of China.' Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said last week said China's rapidly growing nuclear arsenal is driving 'security anxiety' in Australia. As of mid-2024, China's operational nuclear warheads exceeded 600, according to the US Department of Defence. That was nearly triple what the country was estimated to have in 2020. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also earlier this month warned of an 'imminent' threat from China, saying Beijing could invade the democratically self-governing island of Taiwan as early as 2027. Such a move would deal a major blow to global supply of semiconductors – crucial components in modern tech – and massively disrupt vital trade routes. 'Let me be clear, any attempt by Communist China to conquer Taiwan by force would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world,' Mr Hegseth told the Shangri La Dialogue. 'There's no reason to sugar-coat it. The threat China poses is real and it could be imminent. 'We hope not but certainly could be.' Mr Hegseth also called on Australia to boost defence spending in a meeting with Mr Marles, who holds the defence portfolio, on the sidelines of the conference. Asked how the EU might intervene in the event of a significant escalation in the Indo-Pacific, Mr Visentin was hesitant to outline any measures but said Europe had a 'vital interest' in keeping the region 'free'. 'I definitely think that the two theatres are completely intertwined,' he said. 'Forty per cent of the global trade towards the EU comes from the Indo-Pacific. 'Therefore, we do have a vital interest that the Indo-Pacific remains free and open. 'It's a matter of our wealth and our prosperity. 'So, of course we have to be aware of what a disruption of the status quo would mean for us as well.' The bloc deployed warships to the Red Sea in early 2024 to protect cargo ships from attacks by Islamist militants in Yemen emboldened by the conflict in Gaza. Mr Visentin also expanded on EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's comments last month saying she wanted a deeper 'strategic partnership' with Australia. 'It's not a military alliance,' he said. 'It's a partnership for co-operation on defence issues, including industrial things.' He added 'there is no scope for an understanding in terms of transfer of troops or mutual help and mutual assistance', unlike NATO, which guarantees blanket mutual defence if a member state is attacked.
