Sen. #AlexPadilla is forcibly removed from #DHS Secretary #KristiNoem's news conference in #LosAngeles
Noem was in L.A. to address the ongoing demonstrations against President Donald #Trump's #immigration policies.
June 12, 2025, 2:32 PM EDT / Updated June 12, 2025, 2:59 PM EDT
By Rebecca Shabad and Jacob Soboroff
"Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was forcibly removed from a news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday after trying to question Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a press conference related to immigration.
" 'I am Sen. Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,' Padilla said to Noem, which prompted several men to physically push him out of the room. It was unclear who the men were, as several were dressed in plainclothes.
"Padilla's office shared a video of the incident with NBC News. The video shows Padilla being taken into a hallway outside and pushed face forward onto the ground as officers with FBI-identifying vests told the senator to put his hands behind his back. The officers then handcuffed him.
"President Donald Trump's immigration policies — and the administration's handling of demonstrations against those policies — have sparked an outcry in recent days. After protesters clashed with officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles on Friday, the president deployed members of the National Guard, and later Marines, to assist local law enforcement. Dozens of demonstrations have taken place across the country in the days that followed.
"Speaking to reporters later Thursday, Padilla said he was receiving a briefing from military officials when he learned Noem was in the same building and decided to join her briefing.
" '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.'
"He added, '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 with a question, you can only imagine what they’re doing to #FarmWorkers, to #cooks, to #DayLaborers out in the #LosAngeles community and throughout #California and throughout the country.' "
Read more:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sen-alex-padilla-forcibly-removed-dhs-sec-kristi-noems-press-conferenc-rcna212688?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
#ICERaids #ImmigrationCrackdown #Authoritarianism #AuthoritarianRule #ResistICE #USPol #ICERaids #TrumpIsANazi #ThisIsFascism #Project2025