A controversy has erupted after US Senator Alex Padilla of California was roughly removed from a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) news conference, then forced to the ground and handcuffed. The incident occurred when Padilla attempted to ask a question during a news conference held by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles. “I am Senator Alex Padilla,” he said, stepping forward as Noem spoke. “I have a question for the secretary.”
However, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) surrounded Padilla and pushed him out of the conference room before he could ask his question.
A mobile phone video shot by a member of Padilla’s staff showed the senator yelling, “Hands off,” as he was escorted into an adjacent hallway. Agents ultimately forced him to the ground, as Padilla protested he could not keep his hands behind his back as requested and lay his body flat at the same time.
Padilla’s office said he was in the federal building to receive a briefing with General Gregory Guillot and was listening to Noem’s press conference when he tried to ask the Secretary a question. “He was forcibly removed by federal agents,” his office said in a statement.
Padilla drew a parallel between his rough treatment and the immigration raids happening under the administration of President Donald Trump. “If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, I can only imagine what they’re doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day labourers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country,” Padilla told reporters.
Democratic lawmakers have expressed outrage over the incident, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying, “I just saw something that sickened my stomach — the manhandling of a United States senator. We need immediate answers to what the hell went on.”
Representative Maxwell Frost of Florida shot a video showing Democrats walking to Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s office to call for action. “There must be accountability for the detainment of a Senator. This is not normal,” Frost wrote. However, DHS accused Padilla of engaging in “disrespectful political theatre” and argued that the senator had not identified himself as he “lunged” towards Noem. The department said Noem met Padilla after the news conference for 15 minutes.
The incident comes amid ongoing protests in Los Angeles against Trump’s immigration policies. Trump has deployed nearly 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 US Marines to southern California, in what critics have called an illegal use of military power against civilians. California Governor Gavin Newsom has sued the Trump administration to block the use of US military might outside of federal sites, calling it a step towards “authoritarianism”. Newsom also said, “If they can handcuff a US senator for asking a question, imagine what they will do to you.”