{"id":697,"date":"2025-06-12T18:19:50","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T18:19:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/?p=697"},"modified":"2025-06-17T11:05:33","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T11:05:33","slug":"padilla-forcibly-removed-from-noem-press-conference-handcuffed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/2025\/06\/12\/padilla-forcibly-removed-from-noem-press-conference-handcuffed\/","title":{"rendered":"Padilla forcibly removed from Noem press conference, handcuffed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was forcibly removed and then handcuffed after he interrupted a press conference Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem held in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Video of the incident shared by a Fox News reporter<\/a> shows multiple men restraining Padilla and forcing him out of the room, while other videos show they later pushed him to the floor to handcuff him<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Sen. Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” Padilla is heard saying as multiple people push him out of the room.<\/p>\n

As he is thrown out two double doors he can be heard saying,\u201d Hands off!\u201d<\/p>\n

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A post shared by The Hill (@thehill)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The press conference kicked off with Padilla swiftly interrupting Noem only to be confronted by what appear to be her security detail.<\/p>\n

Later during the press conference, Noem said she would plan to speak with the senator.<\/p>\n

Padilla\u2019s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Noem said she planned to speak with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I leave here I\u2019ll have a conversation with him, but I think everyone would agree that wasn’t appropriate,\u201d she said during the press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I leave here I\u2019ll find him and visit and find out really what his concerns were. I think everybody in America would agree that that wasn’t appropriate, that if you wanted to have a civil discussion, especially as a leader, a public official, that you would reach out and try to have a conversation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor instance, I have left voicemails for [California] Gov. [Gavin] Newsom wanting to have a conversation. Has he returned them? No, he hasn’t.\u201d<\/p>\n

A statement from Padilla\u2019s office said he is not currently detained but offered few other details about what transpired after he was handcuffed.<\/p>\n

\u201cSenator Padilla is currently in Los Angeles exercising his duty to perform Congressional oversight of the federal government\u2019s operations in Los Angeles and across California. He was in the federal building to receive a briefing with General Guillot and was listening to Secretary Noem\u2019s press conference. 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,\u201d his office said.<\/p>\n

Padilla later spoke out<\/a><\/u>\u00a0about the incident, characterizing it as an attack on his First Amendment rights and efforts to represent his constituents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will say this: If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, I can only imagine what they’re doing to farm workers to cooks to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later accused Padilla of failing to identify himself and \u201clunging\u201d toward Noem.<\/p>\n

While Padilla did push his way toward the front of the room, he clearly identifies himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cSenator 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,\u201d DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin wrote on social platform X.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers\u2019 repeated commands. @SecretService<\/a><\/u> thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately. Secretary Noem met with Senator Padilla after and held a 15 minute meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Padilla’s push to question Noem comes as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have conducted widespread raids across Los Angeles, prompting protests and later some riots in the city.<\/p>\n

President Trump has since called in both the National Guard and the Marines to protect ICE officers carrying out their duties.<\/p>\n

Noem\u2019s press conference was originally designed to boast of the results of the operation.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople should know that there are millions of people that are in the city illegally, and that we have, I would say thousands and thousands, tens of thousands of targets that we’ll be going after,\u201d Noem said.<\/p>\n

The matter earned immediate condemnation from Democratic colleagues.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatching this video sickened my stomach, the manhandling of a United States Senator, Senator Padilla,\u201d Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wrote on X.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need immediate answers to what the hell went on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Updated at 4:32 p.m. EDT<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was forcibly removed and then handcuffed after he interrupted a press conference Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem held in Los Angeles. Video of the incident shared<\/p>\n

Continue reading <\/use> <\/svg>Padilla forcibly removed from Noem press conference, handcuffed<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":699,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=697"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":698,"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697\/revisions\/698"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}