Legislators and political commentators are weighing in after U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla was forcibly removed from a Homeland Security press conference in his home state Thursday morning.
Padilla was removed from a conference room at the Wilshire Federal Building by Secret Security as DHS Secretary Kristi Noem addressed recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, as well as several days of civil unrest in downtown Los Angeles.
“I’m Senator Alex Padilla, I have questions for the secretary,” Padilla can be seen and heard shouting before he is forced out of the room, taken to an adjacent hallway and then placed on the ground and handcuffed.
It’s the latest in a growing list of high-profile clashes between California elected leaders and members of the Trump Administration. Last week, President Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan threatened Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass with arrest and prosecution if they were to interfere with ICE operations — a sentiment endorsed by the president.
Padilla’s brief detainment has made international headlines and unanimous condemnation from his colleagues in the Democratic Party.
Among his staunchest supporters is Newsom, who appointed Padilla to the then-vacant Senatorial seat left empty after Kamala Harris joined Joe Biden in the White House.
“[Padilla] is one of the most decent people I know. This is outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful. Trump and his shock troops are out of control. This must end now,” the governor wrote on social media. “If they can handcuff a U.S. Senator for asking a question, imagine what they will do to you.”
Mayor Bass echoed the sentiment, describing Padilla’s removal as “absolutely abhorrent and outrageous.”
“He is a sitting United States Senator. This administration’s violent attacks on our city must end,” Bass wrote.
Harris, Padilla’s predecessor, also released a statement that reads: “Alex Padilla was representing the millions of Californians who are demanding answers to this Administration’s actions in Southern California. This is a shameful and stunning abuse of power.”
They joined a chorus of other high-ranking Democrat leaders to express shock and disgust by how the incident unfolded.
“This administration is out of control,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn. “The entire Trump Administration is unhinged. Senator Padilla is just as much of the Federal Government as they are.”
“This treatment of a duly elected sitting senator is shameful and disrespectful. Using force to silence [Padilla] is unacceptable,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said.
The League of United Latin American Citizens also came to the defense of Padilla, who is the first Latino to represent California in the U.S. Senate.
“What happened to Senator Alex Padilla is nothing less than an outrageous abuse of power and a direct assault on our democracy,” said LULAC National President Roman Palomares. “That a Latino U.S. Senator was physically removed from a public press event simply because he dared to ask tough questions of a federal cabinet official is unacceptable and will not be silently tolerated in our country.”
The civil rights organization urged supporters to not “accept this as the new normal.”
Federal officials have justified the treatment of California’s senior senator, with DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin accusing Padilla of “incredibly aggressive behavior,” and claiming that “no one knew who he was.”
Responding to several well-known Democrats and politicos on X, DHS released a statement in which it described Padilla’s behavior as “disrespectful political theatre,” alleging that the U.S. Senator lunged at Secretary Noem, was not wearing a “Senate security pin,” and interrupted without identifying himself. The FBI shared a similar statement.
Newsom again came to his colleague’s defense with a rebuttal.
“‘Didn’t identify himself?’ It’s the FIRST THING out of his mouth in the video,” the governor’s official press office wrote on social media. “You’ve detained a mayor. A judge. A union leader. Now a U.S. Senator. You’ve deployed Marines on U.S. soil. If a President did this abroad, we’d have a word for it: Dictator.”