Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was manhandled and handcuffed as he was forcibly removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference in Los Angeles on Thursday.
As Noem discussed the immigration raids in the region, Padilla said aloud, “You insist on exaggerating,” according to video footage of the press conference. His remark prompted at least two men to approach him and push him out of the room despite immediately identifying himself as a U.S. senator with questions for Noem.
The words “sir, sir” and “hands up, hands up” can be heard in the footage as Padilla is being yanked and shoved.
A seemingly unfazed Noem continued speaking as he was removed.
After Padilla was outside the room where the press conference was being held, he can be heard saying, “Hands off.”
Three men, two wearing bulletproof vests, directed Padilla to the ground, told him to put his hands behind his back, and then handcuffed him. Padilla did not appear to resist, according to a video from a member of Padilla’s staff.
The person recording the video was told to stop recording as Padilla was on the ground.
Noem and DHS have since claimed that Padilla “lunged” toward her during the presser, but the alleged “lunge” did not appear to be captured on videos shared online and has not otherwise been verified.
“Sen. 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,” Padilla’s office said in a statement.
“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.”
After the jarring ordeal, Padilla spoke out, saying he plans to hold the Trump administration to account.
“I came to the press conference to hear what she had to say, to see if I could learn any new additional information,” Padilla said. “I was there peacefully. At one point, I had a question, so I began to ask a 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.”
“I will say this: 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 farmworkers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country,” Padilla said.
“We will hold this administration accountable, and we’ll have more to say in the coming days,” he added.
HuffPost reached out to the press office for Padilla for additional comment.
The news comes as the Trump administration ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement to perform contentious raids across the region. The raids have been met with numerous protests, which have largely been peaceful, across Los Angeles County since Friday.
But on Saturday, President Donald Trump signed a memo authorizing at least 2,000 California National Guard troops to be sent to Los Angeles without a request from Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). The move has not been made by a president in approximately six decades. It was followed by the Pentagon’s decision to deploy an additional 2,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the region.
The altercation also occurred days after Trump and his border czar threatened to arrest California officials, including Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass, who get in the way of the raids.
Newsom has filed a lawsuit over the National Guard troops and called for an emergency order to put an end to the Trump administration’s “unlawful militarization of Los Angeles.”
Padilla, who was born and raised in Los Angeles County’s San Fernando Valley to Mexican immigrant parents, has been outspoken about the raids and defending immigrants. He is the first Latino from California to be elected to the Senate.
Tricia McLaughlin, the DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, defended the response from federal agents in a statement to HuffPost. She also said that Noem briefly met with Padilla after the spectacle.
“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,” McLaughlin said. “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 added.
Afterward, Noem claimed she didn’t know that Padilla was a senator in the moment, despite Padilla clearly announcing his name and title as the men worked to yank him from the room.
She said his “approach” was not “appropriate at all,” but that they had a “great” conversation after the matter.
Several prominent Democrats swiftly condemned the conflict.
On the Senate floor on Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the removal and handcuffing of Padilla was “sickening.”
“What happened reeks of totalitarianism. This is not what democracies do,” Schumer said.
In a post on X, Newsom called on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) to “have a spine” and publicly denounce the incident.
“This is outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful. Trump and his shock troops are out of control. This must end now,” he also said, calling Padilla “one of the most decent people” he knows.
In a separate post featuring a picture of a handcuffed Padilla, Newsom said, “If they can handcuff a U.S. Senator for asking a question, imagine what they will do to you.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called the move “extremely disturbing” in a post on X.
“Every day that goes by, Donald Trump is making our nation look more and more like a fascist state,” Warren continued.