ICE Barbie Kristi Noem’s claim that Secret Service agents did not know who California Senator Alex Padilla was as they forcibly removed him from a press briefing has been spectacularly disproved.
Multiple clips from the incident, including one captured by a Fox News reporter, show that Padilla, a Democrat, clearly identified himself as a U.S. senator as Noem’s security detail approached him midway through a Thursday news conference.
“I am Sen. Alex Padilla,” he can be heard saying clearly, as a member of Noem’s security team held the 52-year-old politician’s shirt and pushed him backward.
ADVERTISEMENT
Struggling to speak while being engaged, Padilla continued: “I have questions for the secretary, because the fact of the matter is a half a dozen violent criminals that should be–”
Padilla was removed from the briefing room before he could finish his statement.
Noem and the communications team at the Department of Homeland Security, which President Donald Trump appointed her to oversee, were accused of immediately going into spin mode, placing blame for the ordeal on Padilla and claiming that he was a random man for all they knew.
“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,” said DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin.
Noem quickly went on Fox News to make a similar claim.
“This man burst into the room, started lunging towards the podium, interrupting me and elevating his voice, and was stopped,” she said of Padilla. “He did not identify himself and was removed from the room. So, as soon as he identified himself, appropriate actions were taken.”
More than 20 seconds passed between Padilla identifying himself as a senator and him being ordered to the ground and briefly placed in handcuffs. One of his staffers recorded the ordeal until an official blocked the view of his camera and ordered him to stop recording.
The FBI said in a statement that Padilla was not wearing a “Senate security pin” that would confirm his identity to federal agents. The bureau added that he was “disruptive” at the event and was released after he was “positively identified.”
Republicans have defended the Secret Service and agreed with Noem’s claim that Padilla did not identify himself. Democrats, perhaps predictably, have sided with Padilla.
“If they can handcuff a U.S. Senator for asking a question, imagine what they will do to you,” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Padilla had a similar message in a statement he gave shortly after the incident.
“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 out in the Los Angeles community, and throughout California, and throughout the country,” he said. “We will hold this administration accountable.”
