On Thursday, one of those moments took place that would likely have been impossible to imagine during any other presidency: A sitting U.S. senator was shoved out of the room at a press conference for a member of the cabinet and later wrestled to the ground, in an incident that was caught entirely on video.
According to NBC News, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) attended a press conference in Los Angeles hosted by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
“I am Sen. Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” the senator said, at which point several men attempted to push him out of the room.
🚨I just received FULL VIDEO from inside Noem presser showing @SenAlexPadilla manhandled, pushed, and shoved to the ground and handcuffed. Outrageous. pic.twitter.com/kpEyIShMCE
— Adrian Carrasquillo (@Carrasquillo) June 12, 2025
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Padilla, per the NBC story, was “taken into a hallway outside and pushed face forward onto the ground as officers with FBI-identifying vests told the senator to put his hands behind his back” and later handcuffed. However, it does appear he was officially placed under arrest.
“He was in the federal building to receive a briefing with General Guillot and was listening to Secretary Noem’s press conference,” the senator’s office said. “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.”
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the Senate Minority Leader, denounced the incident from the Senate floor later that day.
“I just saw something that sickened my stomach. The manhandling of a United States Senator, we need immediate answers to what the hell went on,” Schumer said.
President Trump, earlier this week, had indicated that he might be open to arresting California Gov. Gavin Newsom should he fail to cooperate with immigration enforcement. On that, Newsom has struck back hard.
“These military deployments in California were meant to provoke protest and violence and to lay the foundation for Trump to deploy members of the military across the country,” the California governor said in an email to his supporters this week. “And here is the kicker. Trump’s politicization of our military is pulling them off critical missions in California to further his agenda,” he added, noting that fire crews in California are understaffed.
Photo courtesy of X screenshot
