Sen. Alex Padilla, Democrat from California, is removed from the room after interrupting a news conference with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles on June 12.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
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Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was forcibly removed from a Homeland Security press conference led by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles on Thursday.
He was forced to the ground by federal agents and handcuffed before being released, Padilla told reporters later.
A statement on the Homeland Security Department’s X account accused Padilla of “disrespectful political theatre,” charging that he did not comply with requests to back away. The statement said that the senator and Noem spoke for 15 minutes after the incident.
“I’ll let the law enforcement speak about how this situation was handled, but I would say that people need to identify themselves before they start lunging at people, during press conferences,” Noem told reporters as she left the press conference.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, posted a video of the incident:
From a video recording of the exchange, Padilla can be heard identifying himself as he’s pushed away. A recording later shows Padilla being handcuffed on the floor once he’s taken from the room of the event.
Ahead of the press conference, the department said the event was for Noem to “show her support for DHS, law enforcement, and U.S. military personnel who are working to restore law and order.”
The Trump administration has called on National Guard troops and Marines in recent days in response to protests of the administration’s immigration enforcement tactics.
Padilla told reporters later that he was in the federal building waiting for a scheduled briefing with federal officials, including a general, “as part of my responsibility as a senator to provide oversight and accountability.” He said he heard that Noem was having a press conference in the same building and came to get more information, as he said he had been unable to get a meeting with DHS.
“We emphasize the right for people to peacefully protest and to stand up for their First Amendment rights, for our fundamental rights. I was there peacefully. At one point I had a question, and so I began to ask a question,” he told reporters in Los Angeles after the incident. “I was almost immediately forcibly removed from the room. I was forced to the ground, and I was handcuffed. I was not arrested. I was not detained.”
On the Senate floor, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., referred to video of the incident saying, “I just saw something that sickened my stomach; the manhandling of a United States Senator. We need immediate answers to what the hell went on.”
Adrian Florido contributed to this story.
This breaking news story will be updated.