‘If this is how they respond to a senator with a question, imagine what they’re doing across the country,’ says Padilla
Padilla goes on:
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, to day laborers, throughout the LA community and throughout California and throughout the country. We will hold this administration accountable. We’ll have more to say in the coming days.
Key events
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Padilla urges people to protest peacefully ‘just like I was’
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‘If this is how they respond to a senator with a question, imagine what they’re doing across the country,’ says Padilla
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‘I began to ask a question’: statement from senator Alex Padilla
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Video from Padilla’s staff shows senator was not resisting when forced to the ground and handcuffed by FBI
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Noem doubles down on claim that Padilla didn’t identify himself and ‘lunged’ toward her
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DHS claims Padilla ‘lunged’ toward Noem ‘without identifying himself’ – despite footage showing he identified himself
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Manhandling of senator ‘a sickening disgrace’, says Jeffries
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Removal of Padilla ‘outrageous, dictatorial and shameful’, says Newsom
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Footage of senator being manhandled ‘sickened my stomatch,’ says Schumer
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Senator’s forced removal from press briefing was ‘abhorrent and outrageous’, says LA mayor
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Senator Alex Padilla not currently detained after being forced to the ground and handcuffed, his office says
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Noem claims she’s left voicemails for Gavin Newsom and he hasn’t returned her calls
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California senator Alex Padilla forcibly removed from Noem press conference
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Noem repeats Trump administration’s claims that protests are being ‘funded’ and turned violent
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Kristi Noem to give remarks on anti-Ice protests in Los Angeles
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Trump’s birthday parade may be cancelled over thunderstorms – Times
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Hegseth refuses to commit to obeying courts on marines in LA
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Kilmar Ábrego García seeks sanctions against Trump administration in wrongful deportation case
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Trump says he may soon hike auto tariffs in bid to get more US production
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‘He does like me’ : Trump says of Musk as he praises Tesla
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US immigration agency flies Predator drones over LA protests
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Texas governor says more than 5,000 national guard troops deployed
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Hegseth questioned whether Pentagon has plans for potential Greenland, Panama invasions
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Sanctuary states testify on impact of Trump immigration policies
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Trump says business leaders telling him mass deportations are taking good workers away
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Key takeaways from Gavin Newsom this morning on Trump’s use of national guard in LA
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Newsom calls Trump a ‘stone cold liar’ and says president didn’t speak to him about sending troops to LA
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‘This isn’t an isolated incident’: Trump’s show of military force in LA was years in the making
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‘Morale is not great’: troops and marines deeply troubled by LA deployment
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US immigration officials raid California farms as Trump ramps up conflict
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Marines to deploy on LA streets within two days with authority to detain civilians
The forced removal of the senator Alex Padilla from the homeland security secretary’s news conference on Thursday has been condemned by Vanessa Cárdenas, the executive director of America’s Voice, an advocacy group dedicated to immigration reforms that would put “11 million undocumented Americans on a path to full citizenship”.
Cárdenas said in a statement:
The image of a sitting US Senator being violently thrown to the ground and handcuffed – for simply demanding answers from DHS Secretary Noem at a public press conference – is nothing short of chilling. This is not how a democracy operates. These are the brutal, silencing tactics of authoritarian regimes, not the United States of America. We unequivocally condemn this outrageous assault on a duly elected official who represents millions of Americans. Senator Padilla was doing his job – holding power to account. The fact that he was met with force instead of answers is a shameful reflection of an administration that fears scrutiny and thrives on intimidation. This cannot stand.
As we reported earlier, video of the incident recorded by Padilla’s staff shows that he was forced to the ground and placed in handcuffs by three federal agents, two from the FBI and a third wearing a shirt that appeared to identify him as a member of homeland security investigations (HSI). A more widely viewed clip, recorded by a correspondent for Fox News, ended before Padilla was shoved to the ground by the federal agents.
Padilla urges people to protest peacefully ‘just like I was’
“There is a lot of concern, there is a lot of tension, there is a lot of anxiety, and a lot of people are beginning to make plans for what they may or may not do come this Saturday,” Alex Padilla said after he was forcibly removed from a news conference held by the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, in Los Angeles.
I encourage everybody to please peacefully protest – just like I was calmly and peacefully listening in that press conference.
California governor Gavin Newsom echoes this point, posting on X alongside the image of Alex Padilla being handcuffed on the floor:
If they can handcuff a US Senator for asking a question, imagine what they will do to you.
‘If this is how they respond to a senator with a question, imagine what they’re doing across the country,’ says Padilla
Padilla goes on:
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, to day laborers, throughout the LA community and throughout California and throughout the country. We will hold this administration accountable. We’ll have more to say in the coming days.
‘I began to ask a question’: statement from senator Alex Padilla
Alex Padilla is reading a statement to the press now.
He says he and colleagues have been asking DHS for answers on their “increasingly extreme immigration enforcement actions” and there queries have been met with little to no information.
He came to the press conference to hear what Kristi Noem had to say, he said, emphasizing “the right for people to peacefully protest and to stand up for their first amendment – their fundamental – rights”.
I was there peacefully. I had a question, and so I began to ask 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.
Video from Padilla’s staff shows senator was not resisting when forced to the ground and handcuffed by FBI
Senator Alex Padilla was forced to the ground and handcuffed by FBI agents, despite not resisting, in a longer video clip of the incident provided to a local Fox news anchor by the senator’s staff.
The video, which was posted on social media by the local FOX LA anchor Elex Michaelson is significant because it shows more of the incident than a viral clip posted online by a national Fox News correspondent, Bill Melugin, which cuts off before the senator was forced to the ground and placed in handcuffs.
The longer video shows that Padilla was forced first to his knees and then pressed face down on the floor by a pair of FBI agents and a third officer, whose shirt had the initials HSI, used by Homeland Security Investigations officers.
This extended view of the incident clearly shows that Padilla was forcibly placed in handcuffs long after he had identified himself and allowed the federal agents to push him out of the room where the homeland security secretary Kristi Noem was holding a news conference.
Towards the end of the clip, the person filming is blocked from seeing what is happening and told they are not allowed to record, to which they reply: “That’s my boss, I have to record.”
Despite the fact that the video from Padilla’s staff was provided to FOX LA, the local station posted the less complete version, which ends before the senator was forced to the ground, on its YouTube channel.
Noem doubles down on claim that Padilla didn’t identify himself and ‘lunged’ toward her
Confirming what Tricia McLaughlin just tweeted, homeland security secretary Kristi Noem has said she spoke with Democratic senator Alex Padilla after he was confronted by security and forcibly removed from her news conference in LA earlier.
CNN reports that Noem said after the press conference:
We had a great conversation. Sat down, talked for 10, 15 minutes about operations in LA, some activities of the Department of Homeland Security, and so I thought it was very productive.
She also suggests that Padilla hadn’t identified himself (he did).
I wish that he would have reached out and identified himself and let us know who he was and that he wanted to talk. His approach was something that I don’t think was appropriate.
Asked why the response was to forcibly remove Padilla, Noem deferred questions to law enforcement and doubled down on the claim that Padilla didn’t identify himself first (again, he did):
But I will say that it’s — people need to identify themselves before they start lunging at people during press conferences.
Commenting on the incident during the briefing, Noem had said the senator had not requested a meeting with her.
I think everybody in America would would agree that that wasn’t appropriate.
If you wanted to have a civil discussion, especially as a leader, a public official, that you would reach out and try to have a conversation.
DHS claims Padilla ‘lunged’ toward Noem ‘without identifying himself’ – despite footage showing he identified himself
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, has claimed the senator Alex Padilla “lunged” toward Kristi Noem during the press conference “without identifying himself” despite being told to back away.
She also claims that the Secret Service “thought he was an attacker”.
In the video footage of the moment, Padilla can be heard clearly identifying himself saying “I’m Senator Alex Padilla” and trying to ask Noem a question.
McLaughlin said that Noem and Padilla held a 15-minute meeting after.
Here’s the full X post:
Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theatre 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.
Manhandling of senator ‘a sickening disgrace’, says Jeffries
House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries called the “brazen and aggressive manhandling” of senator Alex Padilla “a sickening disgrace”.
He calls for those who assaulted the senator to be held accountable.
Jeffries wrote on X:
Senator Alex Padilla is a good man and principled public servant. The brazen and aggressive manhandling of Senator Padilla by the Trump administration is a sickening disgrace. Anyone who assaulted the Senator should be held accountable. No one is above the law.
Chris Murphy, Democratic senator from Connecticut, said the incident marks “a very, very serious moment”.
He wrote on X:
This is a United States Senator being violently removed from a public briefing. Many of are reaching out to Senator Padilla right now and there are facts we need to gather, but this is a very, very serious moment.
Removal of Padilla ‘outrageous, dictatorial and shameful’, says Newsom
California governor Gavin Newsom has called the treatment of Alex Padilla “outrageous, dictatorial and shameful”.
In a post on X he said:
Senator Alex Padilla is one of the most decent people I know. This is outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful. Trump and his shock troops are out of control. This must end now.
Footage of senator being manhandled ‘sickened my stomatch,’ says Schumer
Chuck Schumer has said the footage of senator Alex Padilla being forcibly removed “sickened my stomach”.
The Senate minority leader said on X:
Watching this video sickened my stomach, the manhandling of a United States Senator, Senator Padilla. We need immediate answers to what the hell went on.
Senator’s forced removal from press briefing was ‘abhorrent and outrageous’, says LA mayor
Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass said Alex Padilla’s forced removal from this afternoon’s Department of Homeland Security press briefing was “absolutely abhorrent and outrageous”.
The mayor posted her reaction on X, alongside a video of part of the senator’s removal.
What just happened to @SenAlexPadilla is absolutely abhorrent and outrageous. He is a sitting United States Senator. This administration’s violent attacks on our city must end.
Senator Alex Padilla not currently detained after being forced to the ground and handcuffed, his office says
The office of senator Alex Padilla has put out this statement, saying he was forcibly removed after trying to ask secretary Noem a question, and he is not currently detained.
Senator Padilla is currently in Los Angeles exercising his duty to perform Congressional oversight of the federal government’s operations in Los Angeles and across California.
He was in the federal building to receive a briefing with General Guillot and was listening to Secretary Noem’s press conference.
He tried to ask the Secretary a question, and was forcibly removed by federal agents, forced to the ground and handcuffed.
He is not currently detained, and we are working to get additional information.
Noem repeats her claims that “some organized crime non-profit funder” is “sending a political message” through the protests.
Again, nobody in the Trump administration has provided evidence for these claims.
Noem also claims the White House has reached out to LA mayor Karen Bass and had conversations.
We reported yesterday afternoon that Bass said she wanted to speak to Donald Trump and said there was a call taking place to try to arrange that.
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