Several men with badges pushed Padilla backwards and out of the room where the press conference was being held as Padilla said, “I am Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” according to video published by Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin.

He was then forced to the ground, face down, by two FBI agents and one other law enforcement officer who handcuffed him.

Padilla was in Los Angeles “exercising his duty to perform Congressional oversight of the federal government’s operations in Los Angeles and across California” when he “was forcibly removed,” according to a statement from his office that said he is no longer detained.

Padilla has strongly rebuked the Trump administration, saying its anti-immigration policies sparked the protests, telling MSNBC Sunday “for all the people in Los Angeles, I do say protest,” and accusing President Donald Trump of wanting people “to be quiet, to suck it up, and ignore what’s happening, to let him do whatever he wants.”

Noem falsely claimed in a Fox News interview after the incident that Padilla “started launching towards the podium” and “did not identify himself,” while DHS also said in a statement he didn’t identify himself and that Secret Service thought he was an “attacker,” despite multiple videos showing Padilla clearly stating who he was.

The incident prompted bipartisan backlash: California Gov. Gavin Newsom called it “outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful,” adding, “Trump and his shock troops are out of control,” while Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, called it “shocking,” adding, “it’s not the America I know,” Punchbowl reported.