“I’m Senator Alex Padilla.
I have questions for the secretary,” Padilla is heard saying, as he struggles to get past the men removing him from the premises.
He was in the federal building to receive a briefing with General Guillot and was listening to Secretary Noem’s press conference.
This must end now.” Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, wrote on X that “watching this video sickened my stomach, the manhandling of a United States Senator, Senator Padilla.
If this is how they treat Alex Padilla, a United States Senator, how do you think they’ll treat you?”
During a press conference hosted by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles on Thursday, Democratic Senator Alex Padilla of California, a strong opponent of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, was handcuffed and forcibly removed as he tried to ask a question. His coworkers in California and on Capitol Hill have been shocked by the incident.
Padilla is seen being restrained and escorted out of the room by several men in the video of the incident that has since gone viral on social media.
Senator Alex Padilla is who I am. Padilla can be heard saying, “I have questions for the secretary,” as he tries to dodge the men who are ejecting him from the building.
He can be heard yelling, “Hands off!”.
After the incident, Padilla told reporters that he was handcuffed and “immediately, forcibly removed from the room,” but that he was not taken into custody or arrested.
The ranking member of the judiciary subcommittee on immigration, citizenship, and border safety, Padilla, stated that he has been asking the DHS for more details regarding its “increasingly extreme immigration enforcement actions,” but he has not heard back from the agency.
If this administration’s response to a senator’s question is like this, and if this is how the DHS reacts to a senator’s question, you can only imagine what they’re doing to day laborers, farm workers, cooks, and other workers in the LA community, California, and the entire nation. “This administration will be held accountable,” Padilla assured reporters.
In the upcoming days, we’ll have more to say. “”.
When the senator interrupted the news conference and “lung toward” Noem as she was speaking to reporters, the DHS said in a statement that he had chosen “disrespectful political theatre” and had not identified himself.
“Mr. According to a statement the department posted on X, Padilla was repeatedly instructed to back off and disobeyed the officers’ repeated orders. Officers responded appropriately because @SecretService believed he was an attacker. Following that, Secretary Noem and Senator Padilla had a 15-minute meeting. “”.
Sen. Padilla is currently in Los Angeles carrying out his responsibility to conduct congressional oversight of the federal government’s operations in Los Angeles and throughout California, according to a statement released by his office. In the federal building, he was listening to Secretary Noem’s press conference while also getting a briefing from General Guillot.
When he attempted to ask the secretary a question, federal agents dragged him to the ground and handcuffed him. As of right now, he is not in custody, and we are gathering more details. “.”.
When asked about the senator’s dismissal, Noem replied that she would speak with him following the press conference.
“After I leave here, I’ll locate him, pay him a visit, and learn the truth about his worries. It was inappropriate, and I believe that everyone in America would agree that you should try to have a civil conversation if you wanted to, especially if you were a public official or leader. “.”.
Padilla was allegedly “forced to the ground and FBI police handcuffed him,” then “escorted down the hall” and “temporarily detained,” according to a Fox News reporter who allegedly saw his removal.
Another video captured by an NBC reporter showed Padilla being restrained by several officers.
The Senate minority leader’s description of the “manhandling” of a sitting US senator left Democratic officials speechless.
Padilla was described as “one of the most decent people I know” by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who went on to say: “This is outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful.”. Trump has lost control of his shock troops. It has to stop now. “.”.
“Watching this video, the manhandling of a United States Senator, Senator Padilla, sickened my stomach,” wrote Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer on X. We must know what the devil happened right away. “.”.
Representative Jimmy Gomez of California posted on X: “This is not only shocking, but it also poses a threat to democratic accountability and the rule of law.”. Sen. . Padilla is in charge of overseeing Trump’s lawlessness and Rule of Law infractions. If immigrant communities can experience this, then anyone can. “”.
“This is disgusting,” stated Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota. What do you think they’ll do to you if they treat US Senator Alex Padilla this way?
