California Sen. Alex Padilla has continued to defend himself and refute the claims by the Trump administration that he crashed Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem’s information convention earlier than federal officers shoved him outside the room, pushed him onto the ground and handcuffed him.
Padilla, the rating member of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Security, offered extra particulars concerning the incident Thursday evening throughout an interview on MSNBC — the place he stated he was not a risk and merely raised his voice to ask a query.
The senator claimed he didn’t barge into the information convention, as alleged by Noem, however moderately he was within the federal constructing for an authorised scheduled briefing with representatives of the Northern Command. He stated the assembly was delayed by Noem’s information convention, the place she mentioned using the Nationwide Guard within the metropolis.
Padilla stated he determined to go hearken to the information convention and requested the Nationwide Guard and FBI brokers with him if he might go.
California Senator Alex Padilla is pushed to the bottom and handcuffed throughout a press convention held by Secretary of Homeland Safety Kristi Noem in Los Angeles, June 12, 2025.
The Workplace of U.S. Senator Alex Padilla
“We’re, the entire time, being escorted on this federal constructing by anyone from the Nationwide Guard, anyone from the FBI. I’ve gone by way of screening. This can be a federal constructing. And so, I inform them, ‘Let’s go hearken to the press convention.’ They escort me over to that room,” Padilla informed MSNBC.
“The parents that have been escorting me within the constructing walked me over. I did not even open the door. The door was opened for me. And I spent a couple of minutes at the back of the room simply listening in till the rhetoric, the political rhetoric received to be an excessive amount of to take. So, I spoke up,” he later added.
Throughout her information convention, Noem claimed she was going to “liberate” Los Angeles “from the socialists and the burdensome management this governor and mayor have positioned on this nation and this metropolis.”
Padilla informed MSNBC that he wanted to talk out and stated he launched himself earlier than the officers grabbed him and pushed him out of the room as onlookers filmed the incident.
Sen. Alex Padilla, Democrat from California, who interrupted a press convention held by U.S. Secretary of Homeland Safety Kristi Noem, is faraway from the venue, in Los Angeles, June 12, 2025.
Etienne Laurent/AP
Noem stated legislation enforcement reacted as a result of he took steps towards her with out figuring out himself. She informed Fox Information Thursday that nobody knew who he was and that he was “lunging ahead.”
Video of the incident captures Padilla figuring out himself as he’s pushed out of the room; it isn’t clear from video if he stated his identify earlier than the incident or as he approached the rostrum. Padilla was carrying a navy blue polo shirt that had the U.S. Senate brand beneath a navy blue jacket. He stated he was not carrying a Senate pin on the time of the incident.
Sen. Alex Padilla, Democrat from California,who interrupted a press convention held by U.S. Secretary of Homeland Safety Kristi Noem, is faraway from the venue, in Los Angeles, June 12, 2025.
Aude Guerrucci/Reuters
Padilla was not detained or arrested and he and Noem had a personal dialog for “10-Quarter-hour” after the incident, in keeping with each the senator and the secretary.
Noem stated that Padilla will probably not be charged.
White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday stated Padilla ought to be “ashamed of his infantile habits.”
“He crashed the center of an official press convention being held by a cupboard secretary, recklessly lunged towards the rostrum the place @Sec_Noem was talking, after which refused to depart the room and observe the instructions of legislation enforcement officers,” Leavitt posted to X.
Democratic senators rapidly got here to Padilla’s protection Thursday, calling out Noem and the officers for mishandling the senator.
“That is an administration that has no respect for our democracy, for our establishments, for the separation of powers, for a co-equal department of presidency Sen. Adam Schiff stated.
Home Speaker Mike Johnson and different Republicans chastised Padilla. Johnson claimed that censure may be wanted. A vote to censure doesn’t maintain any energy past a public condemnation of the member’s habits and it doesn’t deny the member privileges.
Sen. Majority Chief John Thune informed reporters Thursday night that he had spoken with Padilla and the Senate Sergeant At Arms and had tried to succeed in Noem and stated he was gathering details.
Sen. Alex Padilla, Democrat from California, speaks to reporters after he was forcibly eliminated after interrupting a information convention being held by Secretary of Homeland Safety Kristi Noem, in Los Angeles, June 12, 2025.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP by way of Getty Photos
“We need to get the total scope of what occurred and do what we’d do in any incident like this involving a senator, that’s, attempt to collect the entire related data,” he stated.
When requested if he thought what occurred was applicable based mostly on what he had thus far seen, Thune stated, “That is all I’ve received to say.”
