Senator Forced To Kneel Down, Handcuffed After Interrupting Press Briefing (Video)

Senator Alex Padilla was handcuffed and forcibly removed from a press event after trying to question the homeland security secretary.

U.S. Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly removed and handcuffed at a press conference in Los Angeles on Thursday after attempting to question Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during her remarks on immigration enforcement.

Padilla, a Democrat from California, identified himself during the event, saying, ”I am Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary.” Moments later, plainclothes officers — later confirmed to be FBI and Secret Service agents — removed him from the room.

A video released by Padilla’s office shows him being taken into a hallway, forced to the ground, and handcuffed by agents wearing FBI vests. One officer was heard instructing him to put his hands behind his back.

The incident occurred during a tense press conference at a federal building, where Secretary Noem addressed recent immigration raids in Los Angeles and announced that federal and military forces would remain in the city. “We are not going away,” Noem told reporters. “We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialist and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country.”

Senator Padilla later said he had been waiting for a military briefing in the same building when he learned of Noem’s appearance and decided to attend. “I was there peacefully,” he said. “At one point, I had a question, and 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.”

In a television interview, Secretary Noem offered a different account. “This man burst into the room, started lunging towards the podium, interrupting me and elevating his voice,” she said. “He did not identify himself and was removed from the room.”

As Padilla spoke, Noem continued her prepared remarks, saying, “I want to say thank you to every single person,” before he was escorted out.

Former Secret Service agents and security experts offered mixed reactions. One said that if the event was closed to the public and Padilla refused to leave when asked, agents may have been justified in using force. “The facts and circumstances of him resisting the officers makes their use of force legitimate,” he said. However, he noted that excessive force would not be appropriate if Senator Padilla had complied peacefully.

After the incident, Secret Service agents interviewed Padilla and confirmed he posed no threat. A brief meeting between the senator and the secretary was later arranged.

Padilla stated he had been wearing a shirt labeled “United States Senate” and repeatedly asked agents why he was being detained. “No answer,” he said. “They were not communicative until somebody from, I’m sure, Secretary Noem’s team, figured out I was who I said I was.”

The event sparked bipartisan reactions in Washington. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “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.”

Fellow California Senator Laphonza Butler called the agents’ conduct in the arrest of Padilla “disgraceful and disrespectful,” adding, “He will not be silenced or intimidated. His questions will be answered. I’m with Alex.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom condemned the action as “outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful,” accusing the Trump administration of sending “shock troops” to enforce immigration law.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris also weighed in, calling it “a shameful and stunning abuse of power.”

Republicans responded with mixed reactions. A White House spokesperson called the senator’s actions “an immature, theater-kid stunt,” while another GOP senator criticized the confrontation, stating, “It’s hard to imagine a justification for that.”

The incident adds to growing tensions over federal immigration enforcement. It follows other high-profile encounters involving Democratic officials, including the arrest of a New Jersey mayor and the indictment of a congresswoman over similar protests.

Padilla warned that his experience may reflect broader abuses. “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 in the Los Angeles community, throughout California, and the country,”

With Additional Information From ABC News

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