VIDEO: News Conference Uproar: How security humiliated, handcuffed, dragged out California Senator Padilla. By Dally Iyamu
News Conference Uproar: How security humiliated, handcuffed, dragged out California Senator Padilla
Tensions flared on Thursday when California Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly removed and handcuffed after he interrupted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at a news conference in West Los Angeles.
The 52-year-old Democrat interrupted Noem with pointed questions about a display of mug shots behind her when federal agents moved to restrain him.
“Sir! Sir! Hands off!” Padilla shouted as agents tried to eject him from the room, located about 15 miles west of downtown Los Angeles. “I am Senator Alex Padilla. I have a question for the secretary.”
Padilla, an M.I.T. graduate, Los Angeles native, and son of Mexican immigrants, was pushed into the hallway, where video footage captured by his office and a Fox News reporter showed agents ordering him to his knees before placing him in handcuffs.
A small group of reporters quickly turned their cameras toward the commotion.
“Many other journalists, both national and local, were locked out of the building after officials restricted access shortly before the news conference began.
In the video footage, Mr. Padilla appeared visibly stunned but repeatedly identified himself as a U.S. senator.
Speaking in an interview hours later, he said he had demanded to know why he was being detained and where he was being taken when, “of all people, Corey Lewandowski”, a former Trump campaign aide and current adviser to Ms. Noem, “comes running down the hall and starts yelling, ‘Let him go! Let him go!’”
The incident quickly ignited political outrage in a deeply polarised atmosphere.
Democratic senators, House members and governors condemned the treatment of a sitting senator, calling it another sign of what they described as escalating authoritarian tactics by the Trump administration.
The confrontation followed the indictment of Representative LaMonica McIver of New Jersey and the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka earlier in the week after the Democratic officials attempted to visit a new immigration detention facility in the city.
Republicans, however, seized on the moment, portraying Mr. Padilla’s actions as characteristic of what they described as the political left’s disregard for order, as President Trump continues his hardline stance on illegal immigration.
Ms. Noem had been addressing the press, thanking the Army, Marines and National Guard for providing “security” when Mr. Padilla interrupted.
Notably, although some protests have taken place in downtown Los Angeles, the federal building where the news conference was held, a towering white structure, located over 15 miles away and had no visible protesters outside.
Speaking later on Thursday, Mr. Padilla explained that he had learned of Ms. Noem’s news conference while waiting nearby for a separate briefing.
He said he had repeatedly sought answers regarding the administration’s “increasingly extreme” immigration policies since January, but had not received any response.
When Ms. Noem and her entourage passed him in the hallway, Padilla said he asked a National Guard member and an FBI agent if they could escort him into the news conference.
“They agreed, and he initially stood quietly at the back of the room behind the cameras.
However, when Ms. Noem declared that federal agents were in Los Angeles “to liberate this city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership” of California and Los Angeles Democrats, Padilla said he could no longer remain silent.
Video footage shows Padilla stepping forward, introducing himself, and attempting to ask about mug shots that federal authorities claimed depicted violent undocumented criminals.
Padilla said he also intended to ask about individuals detained without criminal records.
As he began to speak, agents moved in swiftly, tackling and removing him from the room.
Ms. Noem and other Trump administration officials later claimed that Padilla failed to properly identify himself and behaved in a manner they considered threatening.
“I will say that people need to identify themselves before they start lunging at people doing press conferences,” Noem remarked.
Padilla, however, insisted that he had introduced himself both in the hallway and during the confrontation, as confirmed by the video evidence.
Tricia McLaughlin, spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, claimed Padilla was not wearing his Senate security pin and that Secret Service agents mistook him for a potential threat.
She accused him of engaging in “disrespectful political theater.”
The incident has added to the mounting political tensions surrounding immigration enforcement and freedom of speech, drawing sharp reactions from both sides of the aisle.
