(AFP) – A US senator from California was forcibly removed from a news conference being held by Donald Trump’s homeland security chief on Thursday, in the latest escalation of tensions over controversial immigration arrests. Senator Alex Padilla was pushed and shoved from the room at a federal building in Los Angeles as he tried to ask Kristi Noem about operations that have rocked America’s second largest city.
“I’m Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” he said as two men grappled with him in front of journalists, including from AFP. Footage filmed by Padilla’s staff outside the room showed the senator being pushed to the ground by security agents wearing bulletproof vests with FBI logos, who then handcuffed him. Padilla, one of two Democratic senators representing California in the upper chamber of Congress, did not resist. A voice can be heard telling the Padilla staffer, “There’s no recording allowed out here,” as a body moves in front of the camera, before the recording ends.
The Department of Homeland Security claimed — despite video evidence — that Padilla had “lunged” at Noem. “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,” Assistant Secretary Trisha McLaughlin wrote on social media. “@SecretService thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately,” she said, adding that Noem and Padilla met for 15 minutes after the news conference. Noem called Padilla’s interruption “inappropriate” and told reporters at the news conference he had not requested a meeting with her.
Democratic response was rapid. California Governor Gavin Newsom called the incident “outrageous, dictatorial and shameful.” “Trump and his shock troops are out of control. This must end now,” he wrote on social media. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the episode “absolutely abhorrent and outrageous.” “He is a sitting United States Senator. This administration’s violent attacks on our city must end.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for an investigation into the “despicable” incident. “(It) reeks of totalitarianism. This is not what democracies do.” Senator Padilla was there legitimately in that building to ask questions of what’s going on in California, which everybody wants to know answers to.
Noem’s press conference came after almost a week of protests in Los Angeles sparked by an immigration crackdown ordered by Trump officials. The mostly peaceful demonstrations have been marred by eye-catching violence, including people torching cars and throwing rocks at police. The White House responded with overwhelming force, sending 4,700 troops to the city, despite objections from local officials and the police, who said they had the manpower and ability to handle unrest that has taken place in a few city blocks. – Patrick FALLON
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