Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was forcibly removed from a Homeland Security press conference in Los Angeles on Thursday, led by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, after witnesses said he rushed toward her podium without first identifying himself and began to shout at her.
Noem was in the city to address ongoing immigration enforcement efforts and the protests surrounding them. According to Padilla, he attempted to ask a question during the event but was taken to the ground by federal agents, handcuffed, and later released. But video of the incident shows a much different scene (see below).
In a statement posted on the Department of Homeland Security’s official X account, officials accused Padilla of engaging in “disrespectful political theatre” and claimed he failed to comply with instructions to step back. The statement added that Padilla and Secretary Noem spoke privately for 15 minutes following the incident.
“I’ll let the law enforcement speak about how this situation was handled, but I would say that people need to identify themselves before they start lunging at people, during press conferences,” Noem, a Trump Cabinet secretary, told reporters as she left the press conference, per NPR.
Speaking at a press conference following the incident, Padilla told reporters that he had identified himself to authorities. He explained that he was in the federal building for a scheduled briefing with federal officials, including a general, “as part of my responsibility as a senator to provide oversight and accountability.”
But ‘oversight’ is usually handled during congressional hearings, though Democrats during the Trump administration have been regularly showing up at ICE facilities and now, at a Cabinet secretary’s press conference, throwing their weight around.
Padilla said he learned that Noem was holding a press conference in the same building and decided to attend in hopes of obtaining more information, noting that his previous attempts to secure a meeting with the Department of Homeland Security had been unsuccessful.
“I was there peacefully. At one point I had a question, and so I began to ask a question,” he said. “I was almost immediately forcibly removed from the room. I was forced to the ground, and I was handcuffed. I was not arrested. I was not detained.”
PLAY:
.@SenAlexPadilla 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. pic.twitter.com/Eki2cuTymb
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 12, 2025
PLAY:
Footage of Alex Padilla’s arrest.
NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW. pic.twitter.com/GxwRsOAyLZ
— Steve ?? (@SteveLovesAmmo) June 12, 2025
