Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) addressed his forcible removal from a press conference Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was giving in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Padilla said he was in the nearby area where the press conference was being held when he decided to attend because he had been asking the Department of Homeland Security for “more information and more answers” on the department’s “increasingly extreme immigration enforcement actions.”
Recommended Stories
- WATCH LIVE: Alex Padilla speaks after being forcibly removed from Kristi Noem event
- Alex Padilla forcibly removed from Noem press conference in California
- Mike Johnson says Trump's $1.6 trillion spending reduction is 'a good, first start'
“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 asking a question, you can only imagine what they are doing to farmers … to day laborers throughout Los Angeles, throughout California, and throughout the country,” Padilla said after the incident.
“We will hold this administration accountable,” he added.
Padilla noted he had not been arrested but was placed in handcuffs after his removal from the press conference.
In a statement, DHS said, “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. Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands. [Secret Service] thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately.”
Padilla had, however, identified himself as a senator when he asked his question before his removal from the room.
“I’m Sen. Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary. … Hands off me,” Padilla said as law enforcement pushed him out of the room.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) addressed Padilla on the Senate floor, saying the footage of the incident made him sick.
“Sen. Padilla was exercising his duty as a senator for his constituents to try and find out what happened. And instead he gets manhandled, thrown out of the room, thrown on the ground and handcuffed,” Schumer said. “We need a full investigation immediately as to what happened.”
ALEX PADILLA FORCIBLY REMOVED FROM NOEM PRESS CONFERENCE IN CALIFORNIA
“It’s despicable. It’s disgusting. It is so un-American, so un-American, and we need answers. We need answers immediately,” Schumer continued.
Noem was in Los Angeles addressing protests that began over a series of raids executed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the majority of which have been peaceful, but some grew chaotic over the weekend.