Democratic senator forcibly removed from Los Angeles FBI news conference as tensions flare

A Democratic senator from California was forcibly removed and handcuffed after he interrupted a news conference held Thursday by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, setting off another political clash over the Trump administration sending troops to quell protests over immigration raids in Los Angeles.

In videos reviewed by The Washington Post, Alex Padilla can be heard interjecting about six minutes into Ms Noem’s opening remarks at the news conference inside the Los Angeles FBI headquarters: “Secretary, I want to know why you insist on exaggerating and embellishing …”

Within a few seconds, the videos show Federal agents start to forcibly shove the senator toward the exit.

“I’m Senator Alex Padilla, I have questions for the secretary. Because the fact of the matter is, a half a dozen violent criminals that you’re rotating on your …,” he said as he was pushed out of the room.

Democrats far and wide - including House and Senate members, California leaders and former presidential nominee Hillary Clinton - decried Padilla’s treatment.

It is the latest escalation in growing tensions between the two parties - not just over the L.A. protests but also over a contentious GOP bill focused on Mr Trump’s legislative priorities, which could provide $US140 billion for the President’s border and immigration crackdown while cutting social programs and taxes for the wealthy.

The Trump administration has empowered Federal authorities, including members of the military, to exert power over protesters in L.A. in its attempts to quell civil unrest. There have been hundreds of arrests since demonstrations began late last week.

Republican leadership and Trump administration officials have insisted Senator Padilla’s removal was a result of him barging into the room, not identifying himself and failing to comply with law enforcement.

There is no audible evidence of repeated asks or warnings from officers for Senator Padilla to back away in videos reviewed by The Post.

As officers tried to move him out of the room, he identified himself, saying, “I am Senator Alex Padilla” - eight seconds after first attempting to interrupt Ms Noem. Padilla did not appear to be wearing his Senate pin, but he was wearing a “US Senate” shirt with a logo under a jacket.

Speaking to reporters after the incident, Senator Padilla said he was waiting for a scheduled briefing from Federal officials when he learned about Ms Noem’s news conference.

He said he then went to the news conference to “hear if I could learn any new, additional information” about the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions.

“I was there peacefully. At one point, I had a question and so I began to ask a question. I was almost immediately, forcefully removed from the room. I was forced to the ground, and I was handcuffed. I was not arrested. I was not detained,” Padilla said.

“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 farm workers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country,” he added. “We will hold this administration accountable.”

On Fox News, Ms Noem described Senator Padilla as having “burst into the room” and “lunging toward the podium” as she was speaking.

Ms Noem met with Senator Padilla after the news conference for a 15-minute meeting, telling Fox that it was focused on the fact that law enforcement officers present during her news conference did not know who he was.

“If he would have requested a meeting, I would have loved to have sat down and had a conversation with him,” she added. “ … We exchanged phone numbers. We’ll continue to talk and share information … I wish he would have acted that way in the beginning instead of creating a scene like this.”

The FBI said in a statement that Secret Service agents assigned to Ms Noem “were assisted” by FBI police during the apprehension. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin asserted Senator Padilla was not compliant with officers’ commands and that the US Secret Service “thought he was an attacker.”

“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,” Ms McLaughlin said in a statement. “Mr Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands.”

Senator Padilla does not appear to be wearing a “Senate security pin” in photos and videos taken during the incident. During the physical scuffle with officers, Padilla’s blue jacket is pulled to the side and a stylized image of the Senate chamber’s “Eagle and Shield” with “U.S. Senate” in white are visible on his navy blue shirt.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson similarly claimed that the senator “stormed a press conference, without wearing his Senate pin or previously identifying himself to security, yelled, and lunged toward Secretary Noem.”

In an interview with The Post, White House border czar Tom Homan called Senator Padilla “unprofessional” and said Ms Noem and ICE officials have faced heightened threats to their safety.

“The secretary, myself, the men and women of ICE [and] the ICE director are all under significant death threats … I am sure the security personnel didn’t know who he was [and] they took immediate action to protect the secretary.”

California’s leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, swiftly defended Padilla. Shortly after the incident occurred, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California) called on Noem to resign and for an investigation of the officers involved. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California) lashed out at the administration, telling reporters, “Don’t ask any questions because you’ll probably get beaten up. That’s called thug-ocracy.”

In Washington, other Democrats in the House and Senate also uniformly criticized Padilla’s treatment and demanded answers from the administration. Like Schiff, some also called for Noem’s resignation.

More than a dozen Senate Democrats spoke for hours on the floor Thursday afternoon in protest of what took place. A large group of House Democrats marched into the offices of Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) - who was not there - then tried to meet with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), who they said declined to meet with them.

Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Johnson said Padilla’s actions “were beneath a U.S. senator.”

“You’re supposed to lead by example. That is not a good example,” Johnson continued, adding that Democrats were “defending lawbreakers and acting like lawbreakers themselves.”

Some moderate Republicans have initially expressed concerns about Padilla’s treatment.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) called the incident “shocking at every level,” and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who cautioned that she had only seen a brief video clip, suggested that authorities had gone too far.

“It looks like he’s being manhandled and physically removed, and it’s hard to imagine a justification for that,” Collins told reporters Thursday afternoon.

The incident involving Padilla is not the only high-level clash to have taken place since protests over immigration raids in California began. David Huerta - head of the Service Employees International Union of California, the state’s largest public sector union - was arrested Friday while rallying demonstrators outside a worksite immigration raid near downtown Los Angeles. He faces charges of conspiring to impede federal immigration enforcement efforts.

Democratic senators warned that Padilla’s arrest was another step in the Trump administration’s erosion of democratic norms. Some of them compared it to the arrest last month of Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-New Jersey), who was charged Tuesday with assault and interfering with federal officers during a visit to an immigration detention center.

“This is the stuff of dictatorships,” Hawaii Democrat Senator Brian Schatz said. “It is actually happening.”