Senator Alex Padilla, handcuffed and ejected from Kristi Noem media appearance in Los Angeles

There are plenty of scenes that highlight the escalating tension in California. Thursday provided a new one: the brief detention of Alex Padilla, the first and only Latino senator in the country’s most populous state. The legislator interrupted a press conference held by Kristi Noem, Donald Trump’s Secretary of Homeland Security, who is in Los Angeles to support the administration’s operations to deport undocumented immigrants that have sparked six days of protests and riots in the streets.

“If this is how this administration 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,” Padilla said after the incident.

The senator explained that he was inside the FBI building in Los Angeles waiting for federal authorities to begin a briefing on the raids that have resulted in the arrest of more than 300 people in the metropolitan area since last week. While he waited, Padilla learned that a few floors below him, a press conference was about to be held by Secretary Noem, one of the most visible faces of Washington’s anti-immigrant crusade.

Noem had been speaking for just five minutes, defending the Trump administration’s controversial decision to deploy 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles. “We’re not going anywhere. We’re going to stay here until we free this city from the socialists and deal with the burden of the governor and mayor,” Noem said when a commotion began in the room.

Bodyguards shoving

The cameramen shifted their lenses to focus on the unusual scene: a group of bodyguards restraining the burly Padilla. As they pushed him from the room, he shouted: “I’m Senator Alex Padilla, I have questions for the secretary...” before three men escorted him out of the room. In the hallway, Padilla was forced to kneel and lie face down while FBI agents handcuffed him. The Democratic legislator later claimed that he was not arrested, and that his detention was brief.

The images, captured in a room full of journalists, quickly went viral. “This is outrageous, dictatorial and shameful,” said California Governor Gavin Newsom, who became the face of the resistance against Trump following the president’s decision to militarize Los Angeles. “This assault is not only on Senator Alex Padilla, but on freedom of speech and expression in our country. These actions taken by Trump’s DHS communicates a message to all Americans that none of us is safe,” former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote on social media.

The Department of Homeland Security claims Padilla chose “disrespectful political theater” to confront Noem. The official DHS account stated that the legislator did not identify himself, despite all cameras present recording the moment Padilla explained who he is. The senator reported that he was able to meet with Noem for 15 minutes behind closed doors after the scene that has sparked outrage among Democrats.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt rebuked Padilla on social media. “Democrat Senator Alex Padilla should be ashamed of his childish behavior today,” she wrote. Using a video, she accused the lawmaker of jumping onto the podium where Noem was at the time, along with other officials, including the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said agents acted appropriately.

Nevada Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto called for Noem’s resignation. “This level of abuse of power is shameful, outrageous, and is not doing anything to keep our homeland safe,” she said. New Mexico Senator Ben Ray Luján agreed: “This administration claims it’s targeting violent criminals. But in reality, they’re going after political opponents.”

Democratic senators believe the scene reinforces Trump’s authoritarian assault and have criticized Republicans for remaining silent.

Padilla, the son of undocumented Mexican immigrants, has complained about the government’s lack of transparency in carrying out immigration raids. In recent days, federal agents have arrested more than 300 people on the streets of Los Angeles. Only a small fraction of them have criminal records.

The senator is not the first Democratic lawmaker to attempt to meet with undocumented immigrants who have been detained. Several members of Congress and representatives from the downtown Los Angeles district have been recorded trying to enter detention centers. In all cases, they have been turned away by security forces. “We will hold this administration accountable,” Padilla said after being handcuffed by the FBI.

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