Sen. Alex Padilla removed from Noem news conference - NBC Los Angeles
By: Brittany Hope (NBC Los Angeles)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
What to Know
- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was speaking on immigration enforcement in Los Angeles when Sen. Alex Padilla interrupted the speech and was removed by Secret Service agents.
- Padilla was handcuffed and held facedown on the floor in a hallway as Noem continued speaking.
- Noem had been speaking on California and Los Angeles leadership moments before Padilla was removed.
- Padilla was at the Federal Building to meet with Gen. Gregory Michael Guillot, a United States Air Force general who has served as the commander of United States Northern Command.
- Noem's visit comes as tensions remain high in Los Angeles over recent ICE raids that led to days of largely peaceful protests.
Sen. Alex Padilla was forcibly removed from a news conference and handcuffed Thursday morning as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was speaking on recent immigration enforcement operations in the lawmaker's hometown of Los Angeles.
The stunning altercation unfolded as Noem was speaking at a federal building in Los Angeles, where days of protests have erupted in the city's downtown area over the ICE raids. Padilla was removed from the room after saying, "You insist on exaggerating." At least two men identified as Secret Service agents by the Department of Homeland Security approached Padilla, a Democrat, near a wall and pushed him through doors near the rear of the room.
He could be heard saying, "I am Sen. Alex Padilla and I have questions for the secretary" before he was removed, handcuffed and held facedown on the floor in a hallway.
LA immigrant advocates asked whether they funded recent anti-ICE protests
Noem continued speaking to the room of reporters and law enforcement officers.
Video showed Padilla facedown on the floor in the hallway outside the room before he was allowed the stand and released from handcuffs.
"We'll have plenty of time to take your questions after the press conference," Padilla said when asked about the altercation.
Noem had been speaking on California and Los Angeles leadership moments before Padilla was removed.
"We're not going away," Noem said just before the disruption. "We are going to liberate the city from the burdensome leadership, mayor and governor."
As the federal government addressed the recent immigration raids and protests in Los Angeles, Sen. Alex Padilla, native Angeleno, interrupted the news conference, yelled at Sec. Kristini Noem.
Padilla's office issued a statement indicating he is not currently detained, but was handcuffed. He was at the Federal Building to meet with Gen. Gregory Michael Guillot, a United States Air Force general who has served as the commander of United States Northern Command, which oversees National Guard operations.
"Senator Padilla is currently in Los Angeles exercising his duty to perform Congressional oversight of the federal government's operations in Los Angeles and across California," his office said. "He was in the federal building to receive a briefing with General Guillot and was listening to Secretary Noem's press conference. He tried to ask the Secretary a question, and was forcibly removed by federal agents, forced to the ground and handcuffed. He is not currently detained, and we are working to get additional information."
In a post on X, the Department of Homeland Security said Secret Service members thought Padilla "was an attacker."
"Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem," DHS said. "Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers' repeated commands. @SecretService thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately.
"Secretary Noem met with Senator Padilla after and held a 15 minute meeting."
Speaking outside the Federal Building in LA's Westwood area, Noem said Padilla appeared to be "lunging" toward her and "nobody knew who he was."
"If he had requested a meeting, I would have loved to have sat down and had a conversation with him that coming into a press conference like this is political theater," Noem said. "It's wrong, and it does a disservice to this country and the people who live here. So we sat down, had a conversation. We probably disagree on 90% of the topics, but we agreed to exchange phone numbers. We'll continue to talk and share information, and I think that's the way it should be in this country. I wish he would have acted that way in the beginning, instead of creating a scene like this."
A driver in a sedan sandwiched between two federal law enforcement vehicles was detained at the scene. Alex Rozier reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 11, 2025.
Padilla, born and raised in Los Angeles, was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2022. He began serving in the Senate in January 2021 after he was appointed to a vacancy due to the election of Vice President Kamala Harris.
The first Latino to represent California in the U.S. Senate, Padilla's family immigrated to Los Angeles from Mexico in the 1960s.
He among the state and local leaders in California who have been at odds with federal authorities about ICE raids and the federalization of the National Guard and Marines in response to recent demonstrations over the immigration enforcement operations.
The immigration enforcement operations are part of President Trump's mass deportation plan, a central focus of his campaign. Recent operations in Southern California have led to protests in Los Angeles, where President Trump has activated National Guard members and 700 Marines at federal properties in the city without requests to do so from local and state officials.
The administration has highlighted arrests involving undocumented individuals with violent crime convictions. Those who have been caught up in the nationwide raids include asylum seekers, people who overstayed their visas and migrants awaiting their day in immigration court.
Los Angeles police have made nearly 400 arrests and detentions in connection with demonstrations and violence since Saturday, the vast majority of which were for failing to leave the area at the request of law enforcement. There have been a handful of more serious charges, including for assault against police officers and for possession of a Molotov cocktail and a gun.
Reports of vandalism and looting Monday night led to a limited curfew for a 1-square-mile area in downtown Los Angeles, a city of nearly 4 million people that encompasses 500 square miles. The LAPD reported no arrests for vandalism or looting in its arrest updates on Wednesday and Thursday.
The use of military troops in Los Angeles was expected to receive its first court test later Thursday when a judge hears arguments from attorneys for California and the Trump administration. The hearing was granted after Gov. Newsom requested a court limit the scope of the missions for the National Guard and Marines.
The hearing in San Francisco is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
Demonstrations have picked up across the U.S., with protests popping up in more than a dozen major cities. The Trump administration has said it is willing to send troops to other cities to assist with immigration enforcement and controlling disturbances — in line with what Trump promised during last year's campaign.
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Trumpist thuggery
The shit senator wouldn't identify himself and lunged toward the Secretary after being told to back-up several times and refused to do so, he ignored the direct orders of the Secret Service, he also wasn't wearing his Senate pin. [deleted][✘]
If Ashley babbett was a justified shooting, that would be too.
When the secret service or any person of authority asks you to leave, you turn around and walk away......unless you are an entitled douchebag who thinks what you have to say or ask is more important than what the speaker is saying. Padillia is an entitled douchebag, there is nothing special or unique about him other than he won a popularity contest.
[deleted][✘]
Death wishing a sitting U.S. Senator for asking questions at a news conference.
That is beyond morbid, it is pathological.
Who did that?...........or did you see what you wanted to see?
“…maybe a bullet to the throat next time…”
see 1.1
The lengths some will go to simultaneously justify, deny, and defend this would make Stretch Armstrong envious…
He wasn't there to ask questions.
So you agree, the Babbit shooting was totally UNJUSTIFIED!
It's hypocrisy, nothing more, threaten a congressman in your imagination and you justify a bullet to the throat of a Nave Vet, threaten a trump official and someone mentions that the same response could be applied, a response that didn't that didn't happen by the way, because the secret service are cowardly pieces of shit like some. and this is now somehow morbid? When you hold a mirror up the image is more than they can bare so they lash out.
Hollow thought. There are a couple of posters here who often post about taking out trump suporters/fascists. I’ve never once seen you object to that.
More specifically....
"thumpers"
Lol, yep, you nailed it.
Death wishing or implying goes on all the time here on NT
But they are death wishing the approved group or groups to be death wished.
Speaking outside the Federal Building in LA's Westwood area, Noem said Padilla appeared to be "lunging" toward her and "nobody knew who he was."
Yet another progressive numbskull acting out and creating pure political theater. Will these idiots ever learn?
DHS Kristi Noem Just Blew Up a Dem Senator's Sob Story About How He Got Manhandled at a DHS Presser
Interesting thing about this....
I was in DC about 2 years ago. Got a private tour of the Capitol, guided by my son's fiancee' (now my daughter in law), who was a congressional staffer at the time.
We checked in at the Cannon House office building, and were handed visitor ID badges. Absolutely everybody in ANY official capacity had an ID badge that they wore prominently displayed. Any time we went through any door anywhere, she flashed her ID, explained who she was and who we were and then we showed our IDs. House Chambers... ID. Senate floor... ID. Speaker's porch.... ID. Old Supreme Court chambers... ID. Into or out of the tunnel under Independence Ave.... ID
I didn't see any visible ID on the senator. He obviously didn't show his ID.... which he would know to do in almost every other circumstance.
I could be wrong but I heard it was his staffer that took the video. I have to wonder how it was edited to start where it did. Almost seems it was done for the theatrics. That seems to be a popular tactic of some on the left.
This is going to be a big deal.
I'm sure the people who are very quiet about concrete chunks being thrown at cops are going to gin up ever so much outrage because a raving man tried to take over a press conference and was taken from the room.
By the time they handcuffed him they knew he was a US Senator.
At the very least this will energize the resistance.
.....to head to Wiki to find out just who the hell this guy is. More than likely, mission accomplished. He shall have his fifteen minutes of fame while pushing a virtue-signaling immigration bill.
By the time they had handcuffed him, he had self-identified himself as a US Senator. As he's not a known face, I have no idea if that was believable or not. But after two assassination attempts on Trump, it's understandable that the secret service would be rather careful in not giving an attacker the upper hand. At the time he was handcuffed they really didn't know who he was.
It would be nice if we had full video to watch to better understand everything that led up to that point where both the agents and Secretary Noem said he 'lunged' at her. But you are right in that this will 'energize' the resistance. Just look at all the mileage they got out of the fake story about ICE raiding a elementary school graduation.
Shouting at a press conference is not an arrestable offense.
That's why I said it would be nice if we had the full video to watch. All we have is that the agents and Secretary Noem said the Senator "lunged" at her. And the Senator stating he just wanted to ask questions. If he was a nutcase and managed to harm or kill Secretary Noem because the agents held back, what would the fallout from that be?
As I said above, after two assassination attempts on Trump the fast response to an unknown person is to be expected.
How do you know? Please don't say because he said so.
With the wing nuts out there resisting what secret service tells you to do gets you taken out of the room. You can leave peacefully or leave with help.
No it's not. LOL
Oh, it sure will be. It's another example of the left's disregard for the law, their reliance on violence and intimidation, and their inability to govern.
Everyone knows this is all performative.
What is security supposed to do when a random man interrupts a live press conference while aggressively yelling at a cabinet member?
How is anyone supposed to know that it was just a Senator attempting a stunt for publicity instead of a real threat?
After they realized he was a US Senator, he was released and met with Noem privately to discuss the concerns he had. Which he could have done in the first place.
So I guess people aren't allowed to ask questions of our governmental officials?
And what the hell does this mean?
When the floor is opened up to questioning, sure they can. To interrupt a presentation for exposure purposes, not a good idea. He had an appointment that he was going to and happened to hear Noem speaking and decided he was much more important than the group she was addressing.
The same people will be out protesting this weekend about “no kings” while demanding a senator be treated differently than anyone else.
he wasnt close to being threatening to her
The Secret Service thought he was.
He didn't have to be. Surely you have seen people escorted from the Congressional chambers before for yelling at the critters who inhabit those chambers. Same deal. Respect for the speaker AND those in attendance. Decorum.
He was a lot closer than Ashley Babbit was.
For some reason the video starts after he did whatever he did in order to be physically removed. There is no way you could know what that was. Most people in politics know to do what the secret service tells you to do without resistance. In the absence of facts make up your own seems to be a common tactic of some.
Politics WWF style and the sychofans cheer every excuse they can trip over.
He pandered to his base, she pandered to hers.
It's almost like they scripted it.
the face that stopped a thousand clocks
Chuck Schumer, now getting in front of every possible camera to talk about how disgusting security's reaction to the staged photo op was.
Yet I bet if some unknown crazy was yelling at him he would have thought his security detail doing the same thing was just fine.
Hasn't this become normal procedure for removing agitators attempting to disrupt press conferences?
Or is the 'No Kings' resistance trying to tell us that Sen. Alex Padilla was entitled to special, royal treatment?
Padilla was not a physical threat to Noem. That is a lie.
He did "disrupt " her a little. When he said he was a senator they should have took him to a wall in the room and verified, not dragged him into the hall, threw him on the ground and handcuffed him.
Maybe this will awake some of the sleepwalkers Democrats in Congress.
Where did I say Padilla posed a physical threat? That false claim is a red herring.
So, Padilla really is royalty entitled to special treatment? Padilla puts his socks on one at time like anyone else lucky enough to have socks and feet.
Padilla was an agitator attempting to disrupt a news conference. Padilla attempted to forcibly reenter the room after being removed. Padilla could have claimed he was anyone; Padilla did not stop to provide identification.
You seem to miss the part where, instead of leaving the room, he pushed back against the SS and other LEO's.
He kept resisting all the way into the hallway, that's why he ended up on the ground. Conduct unbecoming for a US Senator, normal for a radical bully.
How was the Secret Service supposed to know that if he was not wearing ID? ANYONE not wearing an ID in a restricted area should be addressed by the secret service as a potential threat. ANYONE resisting the secret service should be forcibly removed until their identity is proven. A question the left seems to run from is why a senator was going into a meeting uninvited with his ID off? Why did he take it off? I assume he is smart enough to know it should be visible at all times. Care to answer that?
Look at this way John, 99% of senators weren’t handcuffed, so nobody should care about this
Anybody that resembled Alex Padilla could have claimed they were Padilla. Shouting out a name is not proper identification. Padilla couldn't enter the Capitol building by just shouting his name. Padilla would need to show his Congressional badge to properly identify himself for entrance into secure areas only accessible by Congressmen and staff.
The weakness of your arguments is incredible