Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla forcefully removed from Noem's news conference, handcuffed
Los Angeles, Jun 13 (AP): Democratic US Sen. Alex Padilla on Thursday was forcefully removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's news conference in Los Angeles and handcuffed by officers as he tried to speak up about immigration raids that have led to protests in California and around the country.
Video shows a Secret Service agent on Noem's security detail grabbing Padilla, who represents California, by his jacket and shoving him from the room as he tried to interrupt Noem's news conference in Los Angeles.
"I'm Sen. Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary," he shouted in a halting voice.
Scuffling with officers outside the room, he can be heard bellowing, "Hands off!" He is later seen on his knees and then pushed to the ground and handcuffed in a hallway, with several officers atop him.
The shocking scene of a US senator being aggressively removed from a Cabinet secretary's news conference prompted immediate outrage from his Democratic colleagues. Images and video of the scuffle ricocheted through the halls of Congress, where stunned lawmakers demanded an immediate investigation and characterised the episode as another in a line of mounting threats to democracy by President Donald Trump's administration.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said what he saw "sickened my stomach."
"We need immediate answers to what the hell went on," the New York senator said from the Senate floor. "It's despicable, it's disgusting, it's so un-American."
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said Padilla "chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live news conference." They claimed erroneously that Padilla did not identify himself and said Secret Service believed him to be an attacker.
"Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers' repeated commands," the statement said, adding that "officers acted appropriately."
Emerging afterward, Padilla said he was demanding answers about the Trump administration's "increasingly extreme immigration enforcement actions" from Noem when he was removed. He said he and his colleagues had received little to no response to their questions in recent weeks, so he attended the briefing for more information.
"If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question.... I can only imagine what they are doing to farmworkers, to cooks, to day labourers throughout the Los Angeles community, and throughout California and throughout the country," he said.
Noem told Fox LA afterward that she had a "great" conversation with Padilla after the scuffle, but called his approach "something that I don't think was appropriate at all."
The fracas in Los Angeles came just days after Democratic US Rep. LaMonica McIver was indicted on federal charges alleging she assaulted and interfered with immigration officers outside a detention centre in New Jersey while Newark's mayor was being arrested after he tried to join a congressional oversight visit at the facility. Democrats have framed the charges as intimidation efforts by the Trump administration.
Padilla, the son of immigrants from Mexico, has been a harsh Trump critic and his mass deportations agenda. In a post on the social platform X, he said of recent federal immigration raids in Los Angeles, "Trump isn't targeting criminals in his mass deportation agenda, he is terrorising communities, breaking apart families and putting American citizens in harm's way."
Democratic senators quickly gathered in the Senate chamber denouncing the treatment of their colleague -- a well-liked and respected senator -- and urged Americans to understand what was happening.
"If this is how a United States senator can be treated, none of our constituents are safe," said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., as colleagues gathered on the Senate floor to denounce the situation. "This is a test for the country."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Trump is making this country "look more and more like a fascist state."
"Will any Republican senator speak up for our democracy?" Warren pleaded.
Senate Republican leader John Thune said he wants to know the facts of the situation.
"Obviously we will have response," said Thune, R-SD, as he walked to his office at the US Capitol. "But I want to know the facts, find out exactly what happened."
Other Republicans had a more muted response, with some saying they had not yet seen the video.
The No. 2 Republican, Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, said he was unaware of what happened but said Padilla should have been at work in Washington.
The stark incident comes as Congress faces increasing episodes of encroachment on its authority. As a coequal branch of the US government, the Trump administration is exerting its executive powers in untested ways.
As part of their work in Congress, lawmakers are responsible for providing oversight of the administration, its agencies and actions.
Several senators and representatives have been exercising their oversight roles by surveying the treatment of immigrants and others being detained as part of the Trump administration's mass deportation operation.
From the steps of the US Capitol, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said what happened to Padilla "was un-American" and those involved must be held accountable.
"This is not going to end until there is accountability and until the Trump administration changes its behaviour," he said.
What just happened to @SenAlexPadilla is absolutely abhorrent and outrageous.
— Mayor Karen Bass (@MayorOfLA) June 12, 2025
He is a sitting United States Senator.
This administration’s violent attacks on our city must end.pic.twitter.com/qbh9ZPE8i9
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Women''s Bill: Stalin says proposal amid polls raises suspicion; backs 33 per cent reservation
Chennai (PTI): Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday alleged that the proposed amendment to ensure 33 per cent reservation for women in the midst of polls in states including Tamil Nadu appeared to be yet another political manoeuvre aimed at shaping electoral narratives.
Stalin alleged the timing for the proposed amendment led to serious suspicion.
"Why push such a far-reaching decision in the middle of state elections. This appears to be yet another political manoeuvre aimed at shaping electoral narratives, much like earlier attempts to influence women voters ahead of the 2024 Parliament elections," he alleged in a statement titled "This is not reform, this is reengineering power."
Further, he said: "Let me be unequivocal: we strongly support 33 per cent reservation for women. Our support is absolute. But it must be implemented without increasing seats and without punishing states that acted responsibly. If the intent is genuine, nothing prevents immediate implementation within the existing framework."
Demanding fair delimitation, he alleged there was complete opacity on the basis for delimitation and asked would the exercise rely on 1971 figures from a pre–population control era or the 2021 Census. "Conflicting signals and vague assurances only deepen suspicion." This move would also impose a massive financial burden on states, forcing them to expand or rebuild Legislative Assemblies, all without proper consultation.
"This is a direct assault on cooperative federalism. This is not reform, it is a unilateral, politically driven exercise designed to concentrate power, weaken Parliament, marginalise the South, and undermine social justice," he alleged. "The nation deserves answers: why this undue haste, why shift the goalposts, and who truly stands to benefit."
The NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is systematically eroding the very foundations of Parliament, he alleged.
The Dravidian party chief claimed: "What should be a vibrant forum for debate and accountability is being reduced to a hollow ritual, a stage where members may not even get fair time to speak or represent their people. This proposal to increase seats is a direct contradiction of their own slogan of minimum government, maximum governance. It will only inflate expenditure, burden taxpayers, and dilute the quality of parliamentary functioning."
This also went against the spirit of Article 1 of the Constitution, which defines India as a Union of States. Ignoring the voices of states and bypassing meaningful consultation is not democratic - it is unitary overreach that undermines the country's federal and plural character.
More alarmingly, this exercise will blatantly skew representation and tilt the balance of power in favour of northern states dominated by the Bharatiya Janata Party, while silencing the voice of south India, he claimed.
"As forcefully pointed out by veteran leader Siddaramaiah (Karnataka CM), this is not a neutral exercise; it is a calculated political restructuring. Northern states stand to gain nearly double the (Parliamentary) seats, while the South’s share stagnates at around 24 per cent. This is nothing short of penalising states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Keralam and Telangana for their success in population control."
Chief Ministers across the South, including Siddaramaiah, Pinarayi Vijayan and A Revanth Reddy have rightly warned that this move will distort federalism and concentrate power in a few regions, the DMK president alleged.
PM Modi said on Thursday that the proposed amendments to the Women Reservation Act are not just a legislative exercise but a reflection of the aspirations of crores of women across India and urged all MPs to come together to support this significant move.
He had last week announced an extension of the Budget session of Parliament by three days, from April 16 to 18, so that the Women's Reservation Act can be amended for its implementation from 2029.
