Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was forcibly removed from a news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday and briefly detained after trying to question Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“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.
Padilla’s office said in a statement that Padilla was in L.A. to perform congressional oversight of the government’s operations in the city and across his state. The statement said that the senator is no longer detained.
“He was in the federal building to receive a briefing with [Air Force] General [Gregory] Guillot and was listening to Secretary Noem’s press conference,” his office said. “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.”
Read the full NBC News report.
