Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is under heavy fire after California Senator Alex Padilla was violently removed from her press conference in Los Angeles and forced to the ground by federal agents.
The scene sparked immediate outrage, with Democratic leaders demanding Noem step down.
“Kristi Noem should resign for what has happened under her watch,” Rep. Eric Swalwell told NewsNation. “No one asked for this. We were promised violent criminals would be deported. Instead, they deported a four-year-old American citizen battling cancer, they arrested a U.S. Marshal over the weekend, a U.S. citizen, and now a U.S. senator.”
Padilla was handcuffed and dragged from the event.
“I was there peacefully,” Padilla said at a press conference later. “At one point, I had a question and so I began to ask a question. I was almost immediately forcibly removed from the room.”
It happened as Noem spoke in a city rocked by protests over recent ICE raids. Tensions escalated after President Donald Trump sent 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines into California, over the objections of Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
“We are not going away,” Noem said before the incident. “We are staying here to liberate the city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country.”
Padilla interrupted: “I’m Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary. Because the fact of the matter is, a half dozen… Hands off!” He didn’t finish. Secret Service and FBI agents grabbed him, pinned him to the floor, and dragged him out.
His removal stunned lawmakers.
“This is not what America looks like,” Swalwell said. “Her agents are running around, masked like 1800s bank robbers… or the KGB officers in Russia.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the incident “sickening” and demanded answers. “We need immediate answers to what the hell went on.”
California Gov. Newsom didn’t hold back. “Trump and his shock troops are out of control,” he said. “Padilla’s treatment was outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful.”
White House officials and Republicans dismissed the backlash. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Padilla “crashed” the event and “recklessly lunged” at Noem before being restrained.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Padilla should be prosecuted. “He actually fought police,” she claimed. “He actually resisted arrest and was aggressively refused to leave.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson also came to Noem’s defense. “The Democrat Party is on the wrong side. They’re defending lawbreakers and now they’re acting like lawbreakers themselves.”
But the pressure on Noem is mounting. Democratic lawmakers across the country condemned the incident. Rep. Sylvia Garcia called it “shocking.” Rep. Madeleine Dean said she was “disgusted.”
As demands grow louder, Noem has not apologized or backed down.
