A US lawmaker was forcibly dragged out of a press conference on the Los Angeles protests held by President Donald Trump’s ‘ICE Barbie’ and handcuffed.
Democratic Senator Alex Padilla interrupted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s update on immigration enforcement at the Federal Building in LA on Thursday by shouting, ‘I have questions for the secretary!’
Secret Service and FBI agents quickly surrounded Padilla, restrained him and escorted him out of the room.
Padilla said, ‘Hands off!’ several times before he was pinned to the floor facedown in the hallway and handcuffed with his arms around his back.
He later posted a video of the ordeal recorded by one of his staff members, and explained that he was just trying to provide oversight as a ranking member of the judiciary subcommittee on immigration, citizenship and border safety.
‘If that’s what they do to a United States Senator with a question, imagine what they can do to any American that dares to speak up,’ wrote Padilla on X (formerly Twitter).
‘We will hold this administration accountable.’
California Governor Gavin Newsom called it ‘outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful’ and wrote on X that ‘Trump and his shock troops are out of control’.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that they believed Padilla was the person who ‘lunged toward’ Noem and falsely claimed that he did not identify himself.
‘Mr Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands,’ wrote the department on X.
The DHS concluded that agents ‘acted appropriately’.
Noem said she wished that Padilla had reached out before interrupting the conference in a manner that ‘wasn’t appropriate’.
She added that she and Padilla met for 15 minutes after the incident and had a ‘great’ and ‘productive’ conversation.
Tensions have been high in LA as Trump and Newsom continue to spar over protests against the president’s immigration crackdown.
Trump ordered thousands of National Guard troops and Marines to the city to support efforts by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to deport undocumented people.
Newsom sued Trump and a judge blocked Trump’s use of the National Guard in LA, but an appeals court is temporarily allowing troops to stay. Protests have spread across multiple major cities in the US.
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