Democrats swiftly and forcefully condemned the Trump administration after an explosive encounter at a press conference in Los Angeles on Thursday that resulted in U.S. Senator Alex Padilla being forcibly removed and cuffed by Department of Homeland Security agents.
“United States Senator 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,” said former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Padilla was cuffed and eventually released after the tense scene at a press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The senator interrupted Noem as she delivered remarks. According to cell phone video footage released by Senator Padilla’s office, the California lawmaker clearly stated, “I am Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary.”
Afterward, Padilla made clear he was not arrested or detained, but did share that he was “forced to the ground and handcuffed.”
National Democrats accused the Trump administration of assaulting Padilla, who has served in the U.S. Senate since 2021. Padilla was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom when Kamala Harris left the seat vacant after she was elected vice president. He was elected to a full term in 2022.
“Senator Alex Padilla is a good man and principled public servant. The brazen and aggressive manhandling of Senator Padilla by the Trump administration is a sickening disgrace,” said U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the House Democratic leader. “Anyone who assaulted the Senator should be held accountable. No one is above the law.”
Fellow U.S. Senator Cory Booker, D-N.J., said Padilla was “fulfilling his Congressional oversight duties” at the time of the physical encounter with DHS agents.
“This is no isolated instance; this is a pattern of behavior by the Trump administration. There is simply no justification for this abuse of authority,” Booker added.
After being released by DHS officials, an emotional Padilla told reporters, “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 farm workers to cooks to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country.”
The Padilla incident comes during a politically-charged climate in Los Angeles, where President Donald Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard troops and 700 U.S. Marines to quell tensions on the streets amid mass protests against the Trump administration’s immigration raids and deportations. The decision to send military troops to a civilian city has been heavily criticized by Democrats and advocates who say it is illegal without the approval of the California governor and signals a more troubling development of presidential overreach.
The takedown and handcuffing of Padilla follows other controversial encounters between Democratic elected officials and federal law enforcement. A similar encounter occurred in May outside of an ICE detention facility in New Jersey, where federal agents arrested Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was accompanying an attempted oversight visit with U.S. Reps. LaMonica McIver, Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez.
McIver, who attempted to intervene in Baraka’s arrest, was later indicted by the U.S. Attorney of New Jersey, Alina Habba, a former Trump aide whom the president appointed. Baraka’s charges were later dropped. A judge overseeing Baraka’s case scolded the administration for the “hasty arrest” and described it as a “worrying misstep.”
Democrats expressed outrage over the charges against McIver.
“I am absolutely heartbroken and very upset about her being indicted,” U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., told theGrio before the Padilla incident. “The Democratic caucus has got to stand behind her. We’ve got to make sure that the resources are available for her to be able to defend herself.”
The longtime congresswoman called on Democrats to “stand up,” adding, “We can’t back down.”
“We’ve got to make sure that we do everything that we can so that they don’t believe they can be successful in arresting us and indicting us and basically eliminating our ability to serve,” said Waters.
