California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla spoke out after disturbing footage showed him getting dragged out of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's press conference in Los Angeles yesterday for trying to ask a question—only for law enforcement to shove him to the ground and handcuff him.
Padilla introduced himself and merely said he had "questions for the secretary" at Noem's press conference addressing President Donald Trump's deployment of members of the National Guard, and later the Marines, in response to protests in Los Angeles against the Trump administration's immigration raids.
At the time, Noem said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), its agencies, and the military "will continue to sustain and increase our operations in this city" in order to "liberate" it "from the socialist and the burdensome leadership that this governor [Gavin Newsom] and that this mayor [Karen Bass] have placed on this country."
The video shows that Noem spoke over Padilla when he tried to question her and that he was taken into a hallway and pushed face down onto the ground by officers wearing FBI vests, who ordered him to put his hands behind his back before handcuffing him.
You can watch the footage of the incident below.
Speaking to reporters after the incident, Padilla affirmed the right of people to "protest peacefully" and said, in part:
"I was there peacefully. At one point, I had a question, and so I began to ask a question. 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."
"If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, if this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question, you can only imagine what they're doing to farm workers, to cooks, and day laborers in the Los Angeles community, throughout California, and throughout the country."
"We will hold this administration accountable."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
According to the Secret Service, agents spoke with Padilla following the incident and concluded he had no intention of harming Noem. They also arranged a brief interaction between the two. But in a subsequent interview on Fox News, Noem gave a different version of events, inaccurately claiming that Padilla never identified himself before his removal.
She said:
"We were conducting a press conference to update everyone on the enforcement actions that are ongoing to bring people, bring peace, to the city of Los Angeles, and this man burst into the room, started lunging towards the podium, interrupting me and elevating his voice, and was stopped, did not identify himself, and was removed from the room."
Padilla was openly emotional during a subsequent interview with NBC correspondent Jacob Soboroff, lamenting the actions of the Trump administration that have directly targeted immigrants—undocumented and legal ones alike:
"I understand their plight. I understand their struggle. I understand their sacrifice to just find the American dream, a good opportunity, maybe a good job, the ability to raise a family, and have the next generation have it a little bit better than you did."
“All the talk about immigration, you know, the — the misinformation, disinformation about, you know, invasions and insurrections, it’s all B.S. coming from Trump. ... If all they were going to do is target violent, dangerous criminals, true threats to our national security, that’d be one thing. Nobody has a disagreement there."
"What’s happening in practice is so many — yes, undocumented — immigrants, but who are otherwise law-abiding, peaceful and hardworking, to think this administration changed policy for federal agents to enter schools, houses of worship, let alone workplaces? If immigrants are that bad, why is that where you’re looking for them?”
Padilla also called Noem's claims that he "lunged" at her "ridiculous," saying it's a "lie ... that's par for the course for this administration" before adding:
“At one point, it was just too much to take. This notion that Donald Trump and Kristi Noem have to come in and rescue the people of Los Angeles from Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass? It was too much. And so I spoke up. I introduced myself and said I had a question.”
“If this can happen to a United States senator for having the audacity to ask a question of the Secretary of Homeland Security, then just imagine what can happen to anybody in the country.”
You can hear what he said in the video below.
- YouTube www.youtube.com
Many have condemned the Trump administration in response.
The administration's response to Padilla comes amid a wave of arrests targeting Democratic officials over immigration-related disputes.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested last month for alleged trespassing at a New Jersey ICE facility, though the charges were later dropped. Baraka has since filed a lawsuit against interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba and Homeland Security Investigations official Ricky J. Patel.
Meanwhile, New Jersey Representative LaMonica McIver was indicted this week on federal charges connected to the same encounter with law enforcement.
Former Trump immigration official Tom Homan, now serving as the administration’s “border czar,” has also floated the possibility of arresting California leaders Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass if they obstruct federal agents.
