Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was forcibly removed and then handcuffed after he interrupted a press conference Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem held in Los Angeles.
Video of the incident shared by a Fox News reporter shows multiple men restraining Padilla and forcing him out of the room, while other videos show they later pushed him to the floor to handcuff him.
“I’m Sen. Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” Padilla is heard saying as multiple people push him out of the room.
As he is thrown out two double doors he can be heard saying,” Hands off!”
The press conference kicked off with Padilla swiftly interrupting Noem only to be confronted by what appear to be her security detail.
Later during the press conference, Noem said she would plan to speak with the senator.
Padilla’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Noem said she planned to speak with him.
“When I leave here I’ll have a conversation with him, but I think everyone would agree that wasn’t appropriate,” she said during the press conference.
“When I leave here I’ll find him and visit and find out really what his concerns were. I think everybody in America would agree that that wasn’t appropriate, that if you wanted to have a civil discussion, especially as a leader, a public official, that you would reach out and try to have a conversation,” she said.
“For instance, I have left voicemails for [California] Gov. [Gavin] Newsom wanting to have a conversation. Has he returned them? No, he hasn’t.”
A statement from Padilla’s office said he is not currently detained but offered few other details about what transpired after he was handcuffed.
“Senator Padilla is currently in Los Angeles exercising his duty to perform Congressional oversight of the federal government’s operations in Los Angeles and across California. He was in the federal building to receive a briefing with General Guillot and was listening to Secretary Noem’s press conference. 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,” his office said.
Padilla later spoke out about the incident, characterizing it as an attack on his First Amendment rights and efforts to represent his constituents.
“I will say this: If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, I can only imagine what they’re doing to farm workers to cooks to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country,” he said.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later accused Padilla of failing to identify himself and “lunging” toward Noem.
While Padilla did push his way toward the front of the room, he clearly identifies himself.
“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,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin wrote on social platform X.
“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.”
Padilla’s push to question Noem comes as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have conducted widespread raids across Los Angeles, prompting protests and later some riots in the city.
President Trump has since called in both the National Guard and the Marines to protect ICE officers carrying out their duties.
Noem’s press conference was originally designed to boast of the results of the operation.
“People should know that there are millions of people that are in the city illegally, and that we have, I would say thousands and thousands, tens of thousands of targets that we’ll be going after,” Noem said.
The matter earned immediate condemnation from Democratic colleagues.
“Watching this video sickened my stomach, the manhandling of a United States Senator, Senator Padilla,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wrote on X.
“We need immediate answers to what the hell went on.”
Updated at 4:32 p.m. EDT
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