LAST UPDATE | 12 Jun

A US SENATOR from California was forcibly removed after interrupting a news conference being held by the US homeland security chief Kristi Noem.

Noem was speaking about the immigration arrests that have rocked Los Angeles and led to mass protests in the city against US President Donald Trump’s policies.

Trump has been criticised by Democratic Party members and state officials in California for sending US Marines and the National Guard to assist police in its response to the mass protests.

Demonstrators were protesting Trump’s immigration policies, which have been paired with a crackdown on illegal immigration and a heavy-handed response from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

During the press conference, Padilla can be heard trying to ask Noem about the targeting of immigrants.

Footage of the incident showed security agents forcing Senator Alex Padilla, one of two Democratic senators representing California, to the floor and handcuffing him.

“I’m Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” he said as two men pushed and shoved him from the room.

FULL clip of agents throwing Sen. Alex Padilla to the ground and handcuffing him. Officers threw him and held him to the ground even while he is seen as not resisting. Footage from Sen. Padilla’s staff

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Padilla said he had not planned to attend the press conference, but decided to enter the room after learning it was located in the same building where he had pre-arranged meetings with federal officials.

“We have repeatedly asked the Trump administration for answers on the deployment of military forces and the needless escalation in Los Angeles over the last week – and we have gotten limited answers,” he said this evening.

“I attended Secretary Noem’s press conference in hopes of getting some answers,” he said, adding that he was “aggressively pushed out of the room” after identifying himself and posing his question.

“If that’s what they do to a United States Senator with a question, image what they can do to any American who dares to speak up. We will hold this administration accountable,” he added.”

‘Outrageous’

Many Democratic Party figures have reacted to the footage of the incident this evening. California Governor Gavin Newsom – who is in a vicious row with Trump over the President’s response to the protests in Los Angeles – called the actions outrageous.

“This is 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,” she said.

Former Presidential candidate and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the incident was “utterly unacceptable in the United States of America”.

“As a former Senator, I’m calling on all current members to speak out on behalf of Senator Padilla and defend him and the Senate against these outrageous attacks,” she said on X

Noem’s press conference came after almost a week of protests in Los Angeles sparked by an immigration crackdown ordered by Trump.

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 the demonstrations.

© AFP 2025, with reporting by Muiris Ó Cearbhaill