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Conservatives on social media lambasted Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., for interrupting a Department of Homeland Security press conference in Los Angeles Thursday despite the Senate being in session.
Padilla was kicked out of the event, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said she does not know him personally.
“This is embarrassing [Padilla] spare me the fake outrage. Where were you when LEOS were being pelted with bricks? Hiding along with puppet [Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna]? #FactsMatter,” former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva posted on X.
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“Whoa!! A sitting US Senator, Alex Padilla, was just shoved and forcibly removed from a press conference with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Reports are he’s been arrested. No one is above the law. It’s about time these Democrats stopped acting like they are,” Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk tweeted.
“Sen. Padilla missed Senate votes all week, only to throw a temper tantrum, rush the stage where DHS Secretary Noem was speaking, and get forcibly removed by security. Good on security to quickly address the threat,” conservative communications operative Steve Guest posted on X.
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The political tensions between California leaders and the Trump administration mounted with Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the city, which have prompted protests and riots in the area.
President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to guard ICE officers despite Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass adamantly opposed to it. Newsom said the move was “unprecedented and threatens the very core of our democracy.”
“Donald Trump is behaving like a tyrant, not a President. We ask the court to immediately block these unlawful actions,” he added.
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“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,” his office said in a statement.
“He was in the federal building to receive a briefing with General Guillot and was listening to Secretary Noem’s press conference. He tried to ask the secretary a question and was forcibly removed by federal agents, forced to the ground and handcuffed. He is not currently detained, and we are working to get additional information.”
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After the incident, Padilla’s office said he is not in police custody. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin confirmed Noem and Padilla had a meeting after the scuffle. The secretary confirmed to Fox News that the meeting went well, and the two exchanged phone numbers.
“During a press conference today held at the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, Senator Alex Padilla was detained by members of the U.S. Secret Service assigned to Secretary Noem’s detail when he became disruptive while formal remarks were being delivered,” the FBI said Thursday.
“Secret Service agents were assisted by FBI Police who are in Los Angeles at this time. Senator Padilla was not wearing his Senate security pin; however, (he) was subsequently positively identified and released.”
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