California Senator Forcibly Removed After Crashing Noem’s LA Presser

Sen. Alex Padilla, a California Democrat, was forcibly removed from a Department of Homeland Security press conference in Los Angeles on Thursday morning.

In a video posted to social media by Fox News reporter Bill Melugin, Padilla can be seen attempting to walk toward the lectern in the middle of a press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Three different men who appear to be federal agents, including one wearing an FBI vest, then grab him and push him backward.

At one point, Padilla is pushed up against a wall near reporters before being pushed out of the conference room.

“I am Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary because the fact of the matter is half a dozen criminals — that’s you’re rotating on your—” Padilla said while scuffling with the men.

Law enforcement officers are seen in a hallway outside of the conference room grabbing Padilla as he yelled, “Hands off!”

The situation lasted about 20 seconds, and Noem, who was speaking at the lectern, talked over the fracas.

A second video shows Padilla outside of the main press conference room, being escorted by two FBI agents, and one plainclothes officer down a hallway. Padilla is then told to “get down on the ground,” by a fourth officer. After kneeling, Padilla is told to put his hands behind his back while simultaneously being pushed face-down onto the ground.

“If you let me get off my hands I can put my hands behind my back,” Padilla says.

Three officers kneel over Padilla’s back to handcuff him while a fourth officer observes. Padilla’s staff, who recorded the incident, were then told they were not allowed to record.

“I don’t even know the senator,” Noem wrote on X following the incident. “He did not request a meeting with me or to speak with me, so when I leave here I’ll have a conversation with him.”

DHS said in its own statement that Padilla “lunged” toward Noem and claimed that he did not identify himself, despite the video footage of Padilla doing so.

“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,” the department wrote. ”Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands. @SecretService thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately. Secretary Noem met with Senator Padilla after and held a 15 minute meeting.”

In a statement after the incident, Padilla explained he is currently on the West Coast to oversee “the federal government’s operations in Los Angeles and across California.”

“He was in the federal building to receive a briefing with General [Gregory] Guillot and was listening to Secretary Noem’s press conference,” the statement from his office read. “He tried to ask the Secretary a question, and was forcibly removed by federal agents, forced to the ground and handcuffed. He is not currently detained, and we are working to get additional information.”

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus said the actions were “unacceptable, full stop.”

“We demand a full investigation and consequences for every official involved in this assault against a sitting US senator,” the CHC wrote on X.

Back in D.C., Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took to the Senate floor to condemn what he called “manhandling.”

“It’s disgusting. Anyone who looks at this, it will turn their stomach. To look at this video and to see what happened reeks of totalitarianism,” the senator from New York said. “This is not what democracies do. … We need a full investigation immediately as to what happened, who did what, and what’s going to be done to see that this doesn’t happen again.”

Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania told NOTUS he thinks Padilla is a “great guy” and that he wishes the situation “never happened.”

“I know how very passionate he is about the issues and the things that are happening, and I don’t know the context or whatever, but of course, no, I wish it never happened,” Fetterman said.

California Democrats quickly came to Padilla’s support on social media.

“Forcibly removing a United States Senator from a press conference is disgraceful,” Rep. Pete Aguilar said on X in response to the video. “This administration’s chaos and corruption is out of control.”

Rep. John Garamendi said the behavior was “appalling” and that Padilla was at the press conference in an official capacity.

“@SenAlexPadilla was doing his job of conducting administrative oversight and expressing his right to free speech. Physically removing a U.S. Senator for asking a question continues to cross constitutional lines,” Garamendi posted.

Rep. Ro Khanna posted, “A United States Senator seeking clarification from a cabinet secretary should not be assaulted or treated like this.”

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Amelia Benavides-Colón is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.
Emily Kennard, a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow, contributed reporting.