Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) Was Forcibly Removed, Thrown to the Ground, and Handcuffed at Secretary NOEM’s Press Conferene Today.
Senior Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) Following a Meeting with Secretary Noem This Afternoon.
Senior Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) was forcibly removed, thrown to the ground and handcuffed from a press conference hosted by Secretary of DHS Kristi Noem when he tried to ask questions about the current deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles – the city in which he lives – this afternoon.
It bears repeateing that the California Senator was forcibly removed by security, thrown to the floor outside the press conference room and handcuffed. All this to be sure that Secretary Noem did not have to face public embarrassment by not being able to give credible answers to the Senator’s questions about the deployment of the National Guard in Las Angeles. Following this incident and a brief meeting with Secretary Noem, Senator Padilla said he was not arrested or detained by security. But he was manhandled as numerous photographs show.
The Senator also said he has been trying to get answers to questions about the deployment of the National Guard and Marines in Los Angleles from DHS. Those questions have been ignored. So, he attended the press conference of Secretary Noem to try to get answers to his questions. When he started to ask a question, he was forcibly removed from the press conferene, thrown to the ground outside the room and handcuffed. When the Senator entered the press conference, he was escorted into the press conference room by DHS and FBI Agents in the federal building – indicating that security officials knew well his identity. It’s so shocking it bears repeating again and again.
The Senator said: “If this is how the department responds to a Senator with a question, you can only imagine how it is treating farmers, day laborers and others throughout the LA area, the state and the country. We will hold this administration accountable.” He encouraged the public to participate in the upcoming NO KINGS Day Rally on Saturday, June 14th. “But protest peacefully,” he urged. Senator Padilla is a ranking member on an Immigration Committee and well known to Secretary Noem. The Senator’s office is located in the same, secure, federal buillding as the Secretary’s press conference was conducted this afternoon.
Immediately following the Senator’s statement, numerous Democrats rallied around Senator Padilla. Some have called for an investigation into the incident. Others called for Secretary Noem to resign. No elected members of the Republican party have questioned this treatment of the California Senator.
Senator Padilla is the son of two Mexican immigrants. His father was a short order cook and his mother was a house cleaner. He graduated from MIT with a degree in engineering. In contast, Secretary Noem is known for shooting her puppy, Cricket” in the face because it was “untrainable.” Secretary Noem than rushed to an interview on FoX News claiming the Senator from California did not identify himself. Actually, the Senator did identify himself. That can be hard on tapes that have been made public. Secretary Noem knew well who he is. She just didn’t want to admit she could not answer his questions in public, not just in private.
As one cable news contributor said: “Fox News has become the state media – like in Russia.” That begs the question: Why doesn’t the “Collins Press Herald” cover this story?