Senator Alex Padilla forcibly removed from DHS Secretary Noem's LA press conference. FBI agents ejected California Senator Alex Padilla after he attempted to question Secretary Noem about immigration protests. Video footage shows the incident, sparking controversy over Congressional oversight and freedom of speech
Senator Alex Padilla forcibly removed from Kristi Noem press conference: FBI agents physically ejected California Senator Alex Padilla from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's Los Angeles press conference on June 12, 2025, sparking outrage. Video footage shows the Senator being pushed and handcuffed while attempting to question Noem about immigration protests
Senator Alex Padilla forcibly removed from DHS Secretary Noem's press conference. Video footage shows FBI agents pushing California Senator Padilla out of the room as he attempted to question Secretary Noem about Los Angeles immigration protests. Padilla identified himself, but was reportedly tackled and handcuffed. His office stated he was exercising Congressional oversight
He was then forced to the ground, face down, by two FBI agents and one other law enforcement officer who handcuffed him.
Padilla was in Los Angeles “exercising his duty to perform Congressional oversight of the federal government’s operations in Los Angeles and across California” when he “was forcibly removed,” according to a statement from his office that said he is no longer detained.
Padilla has strongly rebuked the Trump administration, saying its anti-immigration policies sparked the protests, telling MSNBC Sunday “for all the people in Los Angeles, I do say protest,” and accusing President Donald Trump of wanting people “to be quiet, to suck it up, and ignore what’s happening, to let him do whatever he wants.”
Noem falsely claimed in a Fox News interview after the incident that Padilla “started launching towards the podium” and “did not identify himself,” while DHS also said in a statement he didn’t identify himself and that Secret Service thought he was an “attacker,” despite multiple videos showing Padilla clearly stating who he was.
The incident prompted bipartisan backlash: California Gov. Gavin Newsom called it “outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful,” adding, “Trump and his shock troops are out of control,” while Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, called it “shocking,” adding, “it’s not the America I know,” Punchbowl reported.
“If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question … you can only imagine what they’re doing to farmworkers, to cooks, to day laborers,” Padilla told reporters after the incident, promising to “hold this administration accountable.”
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson also accused Padilla of having “stormed” the press conference “without wearing his Senate pin or previously identifying himself to security,” alleging he “yelled, and lunged toward Secretary Noem.” Jackson said Padilla didn’t identify himself until after he pushed through security in response to observations that he clearly stated who he was.
Noem held a press conference in Los Angeles amid ongoing demonstrations against Trump’s mass deportation initiative and a series of surprise Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. Democrats have rebuked the Trump administration for sending military troops to assist local law enforcement at the protests, and Newsom’s administration sued Trump over the deployment of Marines and the National Guard without the state’s request or permission. The protests have also prompted a heated back-and-forth between Newsom and Trump, who have presented conflicting narratives of their roles in the demonstrations.
Trump Takes Credit For Quelling LA Protests After Newsom Accuses Him Of Inflaming Demonstrations (Forbes)
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