Senator Tackled And Cuffed At DHS Press Event In LA As Trump-Era Immigration Crackdown Escalates

Sen. Alex Padilla was violently removed and handcuffed while attempting to question DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, drawing widespread condemnation and fueling fears of growing authoritarianism.

By Alexis Sterling, Nation of Change

federal law enforcement officers during a press conference hosted by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles on Thursday, igniting a firestorm of outrage and renewed scrutiny over the Trump administration’s intensifying anti-immigrant agenda.

The incident, captured in videos that rapidly circulated online, shows Padilla attempting to pose a question to Secretary Noem when multiple officers began grabbing him. In the footage, Padilla can be heard saying, “I’m Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” as he is forcibly manhandled and pushed out of the room. As he continues to speak—referencing a “rotating” set of individuals the Trump administration is showcasing to justify its sweeping immigration enforcement—Padilla yells “hands off” while officers grab his arms, chest, and clothing.

Once outside the conference room, the officers shoved Padilla to the ground and placed him in handcuffs. The senator was later released and stated that he was not formally detained. According to a statement from Padilla’s office, he was in the federal building to receive a briefing from General Gregory Guillot and had attended the press conference to hear Noem’s remarks.

“Senator Padilla is currently in Los Angeles exercising his duty to perform congressional oversight of the federal government’s operations in Los Angeles and across California. He was in the federal building to receive a briefing with General [Gregory] Guillot and was listening to Secretary Noem’s press conference,” the statement said.

Padilla emphasized that he was attempting to ask questions regarding recent DHS actions in California that he and several other senators have been pressing the department about. “Over the course of recent weeks, I [and] several of my colleagues have been asking the Department of Homeland Security for more information and more answers on their increasingly extreme immigration enforcement actions, and we’ve gotten little to no information in response to our inquiries. And so I came to the press conference to hear what she had to say, to see if I could learn any new additional information,” Padilla said.

The Department of Homeland Security issued its own version of events, claiming that Padilla interrupted the event “without identifying himself” and “lung[ed]” at Noem. The department suggested the Secret Service perceived him as a threat. However, the widely shared video directly contradicts these claims, showing Padilla clearly identifying himself as a U.S. senator and exhibiting no threatening behavior.

The DHS statement did not explain why a sitting member of Congress was subjected to physical removal and restraint in a public setting. Instead, it accused Padilla of “disrespectful political theatre.” The department’s response has raised concerns that questioning administration officials is now being equated with a security threat.

Padilla, speaking to the press later in the day, underscored the gravity of what the incident implies for ordinary Americans. “If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, if this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question, you can only imagine what they’re doing to farmworkers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country.”

The backlash was swift and severe. Democratic senators and civil rights organizations denounced the incident in stark terms, describing it as authoritarian and dangerous. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York posted, “Sen. Padilla thrown to the ground, manhandled, brutally taken down, handcuffed. It’s disgusting. Reeks of totalitarianism.”

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon added, “In my time in the Senate I’ve never seen a Senator treated this way. [Senator Padilla] is carrying out his constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight and defend the people he represents. Absolutely shocking and disgusting way to handle a sitting member of Congress.”

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts posted, “I’m on my way to the Senate floor to talk about the assault on my colleague, Senator Alex Padilla. This is a horrifying moment in our nation’s history.”

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island evoked historical parallels to authoritarian regimes, writing, “What’s next, brown shirts?” and questioned, “What do Republican colleagues have to say? At long last, colleagues, have you no sense of decency?”

Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts stated, “This is insane. A United States Senator was just violently thrown to the ground and handcuffed while trying to question the administration. We need a countrywide response to this all out authoritarianism. This cannot stand.”

Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii called the episode “sickening,” and added, “This is what authoritarians do. None of us is safe from this regime.”

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus issued a formal demand for an investigation into the incident, stating, “This is unacceptable, full stop. [Senator Padilla] attended an open press conference to engage in debate, to represent his state, to do his job.”

Outside watchdog organizations echoed those concerns. The Not Above the Law Coalition, a group of over 150 organizations including think tanks and advocacy groups, issued a statement condemning the incident and calling for accountability. “The images of federal agents tackling and handcuffing Senator Alex Padilla should send chills down every American’s spine. It is shocking enough to see someone manhandled for exercising their First Amendment right to free speech. That it happened to a sitting U.S. Senator attending a public DHS press briefing in his home state is outrageous and un-American.”

The incident follows a growing pattern under the Trump administration in which federal law enforcement has been used against elected officials and public servants who challenge the president’s policies. In recent weeks, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested by masked federal agents after visiting an ICE facility alongside three House members as part of an oversight effort. In another case, a Milwaukee judge was taken into federal custody after reportedly shielding an immigrant from arrest inside a courthouse.

The administration has also escalated threats against other public officials. President Trump recently suggested that California Governor Gavin Newsom could face arrest for resisting DHS raids in Los Angeles.

The use of federal force against a sitting senator performing oversight duties has raised alarms across the political spectrum, but especially among those who have warned of growing authoritarian tendencies in the administration’s handling of dissent, immigration, and public discourse.

In a recent Truthout interview, organizer and author Silky Shah described the situation in broader terms: “Fascism and authoritarianism are deployed through law enforcement.”

As the incident continues to reverberate through Congress and public discourse, the question many are now asking is not only whether Padilla’s treatment was lawful—but what it says about the future of constitutional checks and democratic accountability in the United States.