One of California’s U.S. senators was shoved and then handcuffed by officials after he crashed a Homeland Security press conference Thursday on the Los Angeles protests.
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was unable to get off his a question for Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles when officials shoved him out of the room as he screamed “hands off!”
“I am Sen. Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” Padilla said, “because the fact of the matter is that half of dozens of criminals that you’re rotating on your … hands off!”
A video from the senator’s staff showed Padilla on the ground and being handcuffed by officers:
Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said officers “acted appropriately,” adding that Padilla “lunged” toward Noem.
“Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem,” McLaughlin tweeted.
“Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands. @SecretService thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately,” she continued.
McLaughlin said Noem met with Padilla and held a 15-minute meeting.
Tensions have been heated after President Donald Trump ordered 4,000 National Guardsmen to be activated to quell the protests against Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wishes.
Newsom blasted officials’ treatment of Padilla, whom he called “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,” the governor tweeted:
While many demonstrations against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency have been peaceful, with marchers chanting slogans and carrying signs, others have led to clashes with police, hundreds of arrests and the use of chemical irritants to disperse crowds.
Trump said Thursday that without the military, Los Angeles “would be a crime scene like we haven’t seen in years.”
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla is pushed out of the room as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem holds a news conference regarding the recent protests in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)AP
Newsom had “totally lost control of the situation,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, misspelling the governor’s first name while using a derogatory nickname for him.
“He should be saying THANK YOU for saving his ass, instead of trying to justify his mistakes and incompetence!!!”