AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Democratic Senator Alex Padilla of California was forcibly removed from a press conference for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Noem's presser was to show support for law enforcement here in Los Angeles, where there have been clashes with protesters. Here's Padilla sharing his view of what happened.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ALEX PADILLA: I was there peacefully. At one point, I had a question, and so I began to ask a question. I was almost immediately forcibly removed from the room. I was forced to the ground, and I was handcuffed.
CHANG: All right. Joining us now is NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales. Hi, Claudia.
CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE: Hey there.
CHANG: OK, so tell us what happened here, exactly.
GRISALES: Right, pretty extraordinary moment. As you mentioned, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was holding this press conference in Los Angeles over the protests when Democratic Senator Alex Padilla from California, he entered the room and tried to speak with her. And within moments, he was forcibly removed by officials. Padilla told reporters, as he - you heard there, he was not arrested or detained, but he was forced to the ground and handcuffed before being released. After the incident, he also told reporters that if this is what happens to a U.S. senator in front of live cameras, what are authorities doing behind closed doors? Here's a listen.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PADILLA: I'm Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary because the fact of the matter is a half a dozen violent criminals that you're rotating on your...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Outside, bud.
PADILLA: ...On your...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: I also want to talk about...
PADILLA: Hands off.
CHANG: We're listening to the event unfolding.
GRISALES: Exactly. And the struggle continued after that for several seconds later. He's pushed more than 10 feet away into an office area past some doors. We could see with the view of this video of him struggling continually with these three individuals to try and detain him. And it's apparently a alarming moment in just kind of an escalation of these tensions.
CHANG: Well, what is the Department of Homeland Security saying about what happened?
GRISALES: They did issue a statement on their social media account on X. They accused Padilla of disrespectful political theater. They said he didn't comply with requests to back away. The statement also said the senator and Noem spoke for 15 minutes after the incident. We should note, ahead of the press conference, the department said the event was for Noem to show support for DHS, law enforcement and U.S. military personnel working in this time of protests in Los Angeles.
CHANG: OK. Well, how are lawmakers generally or other officials responding right now?
GRISALES: Right. They're furious. And right now, Senate Democrats, for example, have taken to the Senate floor. More than a dozen have gathered there to speak out against what happened. That includes Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. He's demanding an immediate investigation into what happened. And also, we're hearing from the governor, Gavin Newsom, of California, who saw the incident and said it was outrageous, dictatorial. But again, it's a dramatic reminder of how the tensions over the administration's immigration policies are rising, and the Trump administration's zero tolerance for these kind of moments.
CHANG: That is NPR's Claudia Grisales. Thank you so much, Claudia.
GRISALES: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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