Federal law enforcement agents forcibly removed Sen. Alex Padilla from a June 12 press conference, forced him to the ground and handcuffed the California Democrat after he interrupted an event for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem amid mass protests over the administration’s immigration crackdown.
“I am Senator Alex Padilla, I have questions for the secretary,” Padilla said as he was hauled from the room at a federal building in Los Angels where Noem was speaking.
Noem said during the press conference that she doesn’t know the two-term Padilla and that he hadn’t requested a meeting with her.
“So when I leave here I’ll have a conversation with him and visit and find out really what his concerns were,” the Trump Cabinet secretary said. “I think everybody in America would agree that wasn’t appropriate.”
Noem’s agency oversees Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, which has been carrying out raids in the city. Protesters have flooded downtown Los Angeles for five days, some of which have devolved into violence as protesters burn cars and loot buildings.
