WASHINGTON — Five days after he was forcibly removed from a West Los Angeles news conference being held by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and forced to a hallway floor and placed in handcuffs, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, went to the floor of the U.S. Senate and recounted that story.
“You’ve seen the video,” Padilla told his Senate colleagues. “I was pushed and pulled, struggled to maintain my balance. I was forced to the ground.
“First on my knees and then flat on my chest, and was handcuffed and marched down a hallway repeatedly asking, ‘Why am I being detained?’” Padilla said. “Not once did they tell me why. I pray you never have a moment like this.
“At one point,” Padilla said, “the United States Secretary of Homeland Security said that the purpose of federal law enforcement and the purpose of the United States military was to, quote, liberate Los Angeles from our governor and our mayor. To somehow liberate us from the very people that we democratically elected to lead our city and our state.
“No one will redeem America but Americans. No one is coming to save us but us,” Padilla said. “And we know that the cameras are not on in every corner of the country. But if this administration is this afraid of just one senator with a question, colleagues, imagine what the voices of tens of millions of Americans peacefully protesting can do.”
Noem was in the middle of her remarks at the news conference at the West Los Angeles federal building June 12, discussing ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the city, when Padilla stepped forward, identified himself verbally and said he wanted to ask a question. At that point, federal officers in the room forcibly grabbed Padilla and pushed him out of a door and into a hallway. Padilla continued speaking loudly as he was removed from the room.
According to video from the scene, Padilla was led into a hallway, where three federal officers forced him to the ground on his stomach, and his hands were cuffed behind his back.
Asked about the incident, Noem said she was unaware that Padilla was going to be in attendance at her news conference, and said she had not received any request from him or his office to speak with her. She called Padilla’s actions at the news conference “inappropriate,” but said she planned to speak with him.
“I don’t even know the senator. He did not request a meeting with me or to speak with me,” Noem said. “So when I leave here I’ll have a conversation with him and find out really what his concerns were. I think everybody in America would agree that that was inappropriate.”
Noem said later she did speak to Padilla and had a productive conversation about the current enforcement operations.
When Padilla emerged from the federal building a short time after the incident he spoke to reporters, stressing that he was not arrested.
“Since the beginning of the year, but especially over the course of recent weeks, I and several of my colleagues have been asking the Department of Homeland Security for more information and more answers on their increasingly extreme immigration enforcement actions, and we’ve gotten little to no information in response to our inquiries,” Padilla said. “And so I came to the press conference to hear what she had to say, to see if I could learn any new additional information.
“And at one point I had a question. … I was there peacefully. At one point I had a question, and so I began to ask a question. I was immediately forcibly removed from the room. I was forced to the ground, and I was handcuffed. I was not arrested. I was not detained,” Padilla said.
“I will say this — 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 farmworkers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country. We will hold this administration accountable.”
In a statement posted on X, the Department of Homeland Security said, “Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theater and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem. 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.”
Dan Bongino, deputy director of the FBI, wrote on X that Padilla “was not wearing a security pin and physically resisted law enforcement when confronted. Our FBI personnel acted completely appropriately while assisting Secret Service and we are grateful for their professionalism and service.”
Negative reaction to Padilla’s ejection from the news conference was quick from area Democrats, with Mayor Karen Bass posting on X, “What just happened to [Padilla] is absolutely abhorrent and outrageous. He is a sitting United States senator. This administration’s violent attacks on our city must end.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on X that Padilla “is one of the most decent people I know. This is outrageous, dictatorial and shameful. [President Donald] Trump and his shock troops are out of control. This must end now. If they can handcuff a U.S. senator for asking a question, imagine what they will do to you.”
Assemblyman Mark González, D-Los Angeles, issued a statement saying, “This isn’t just an insult to Senator Padilla, it’s an attack on the dignity of our democratic institutions and the people he represents.”
In addition, L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn issued a statement saying, “This administration is out of control. They are shoving to the ground and handcuffing a United States senator. The entire Trump administration is unhinged.
“Senator Padilla is just as much of the federal government as they are. The Trump administration is abusing their power,” Hahn added. “They are using force on immigrants in our neighborhoods, their family members, and now on a sitting senator. Senator Padilla wasn’t interfering with one of their operations. This was at a staged press conference in front of the cameras — all for show.”
Padilla’s colleague, Sen. Adam Schiff, condemned the actions taken against Padilla in remarks on the Senate floor.
“When a U.S. senator goes to demand questions about the lawfulness or lawlessness of these actions, to see him tackled to the ground, brought to the ground. What is becoming of our democracy? Are there no limits to what this administration will do?” Schiff said.
Meanwhile, White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung posted on X, “Thank you to all media outlets for playing the Sen. Alex Padilla freak out. Shows the public what a complete lunatic Padilla is by rushing towards Secretary Noem and disturbing the informative press conference.”
