Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference in Los Angeles went off the rails after it was crashed by one of California’s senators trying to ask a question.
Noem was slamming California leaders amid protests in the state against ICE raids when Senator Alex Padilla interrupted her.
The California lawmaker, who clearly identified himself, was aggressively grabbed and bundled out of the room before being handcuffed on the ground.
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The incident drew an immediate response from the state’s Governor Gavin Newsom, who 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.”
“Secretary, I want to know why you insist on exaggerating and embellishing,” Padilla began before being intercepted by officials.
Shocking video showed the senator being grabbed by the arms by multiple men and pushed toward the exit.
“I am Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” he continued, trying to speak as he was shoved toward the door. “Because the fact of the matter is a half a dozen violent criminals that should be –”
At that point, the senator was removed from the room. Padilla could be seen holding his hands up as three men, including one wearing an FBI vest, continued to escort him out.
He was then forced to the ground, instructed to put his hands behind his back, and handcuffed. At that point, a man stood in front of the camera and said there was no recording allowed.
The person recording could be heard saying that Padilla was his boss and he was not a member of the press before the video ended.
DHS slammed the senator in response to a request for the Daily Beast for comment.
“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,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement.
“Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands. U.S. Secret Service thought he was an attacker, and officers acted appropriately. Secretary Noem met with Senator Padilla after and held a 15-minute meeting,” she continued.
Asked during the press conference about the senator’s interruption, Noem said she did not know the senator and claimed he did not request a meeting with her. She called his actions “inappropriate.”
However, Padilla slammed his treatment and questioned how others would be mistreated by the administration if he were handcuffed on the ground.
“I was there peacefully. I was forced to the ground, and I was handcuffed. I was not arrested. I was not detained,” Padilla said.
“If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, we can only imagine what they are doing to farm workers, to day laborers, throughout the Los Angeles community, and throughout California, and, throughout the country. We will hold this administration accountable,” he added.
Other Democrats have also expressed outrage over Padilla’s treatment.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the floor of the Senate that the video of Padilla being handcuffed on the ground sickened his stomach.
“To look at this video and see what happened reeks—reeks—of totalitarianism," Schumer said. “This is not what democracies do.”
Schumer called for an immediate investigation into what happened.
“It’s despicable. It’s disgusting. It is so un-American, so un-American, and we need answers,” the New York senator said.
He was one of several Democratic senators who blasted Padilla’s treatment on the Senate floor Thursday afternoon.
“The brazen and aggressive manhandling of Senator Padilla by the Trump administration is a sickening disgrace,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in a post. “Anyone who assaulted the Senator should be held accountable. No one is above the law.”
