Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the video of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) being forcibly removed from a press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and thrown to the ground “reeks of totalitarianism” and called for an investigation into how it transpired.
A visibly angry Schumer lambasted the administration for not giving Democrats answers about the past week of protests in Los Angeles and said Padilla was doing his job as a senator to seek information.
“He’s been thrown to the ground … man-handled. Brutally taken down, handcuffed. It was disgusting,” Schumer said. “Anyone who looks at this, it will turn their stomach. … Reeks of totalitarianism.
“This is not what democracies do,” Schumer continued. “Sen. Padilla was there legitimately in that building to ask questions of what’s going on in California, which everybody wants to know answers to. We don’t get answers when we ask the administration’s questions in one way or another. Sen. Padilla was exercising his duty as a senator for his constituents to try to find out what happened.”
The New York Democrat went on to call for a full probe into how Padilla ended up on the ground and handcuffed.
“Instead, he gets man-handled, thrown out of the room, thrown on the ground and handcuffed,” Schumer continued. “We need a full investigation immediately as to what happened and who did what and what’s going to be done to see that this doesn’t happen again — to Sen. Padilla or other American citizens who are seeking their right to redress.”
“It’s despicable, it’s disgusting, it’s so un-American,” he added. “We need answers. We need answers immediately.”
Padilla appeared to interrupt Noem toward the beginning of her press conference, which prompted security to confront him. He identified himself, but the security officers forcibly removed him from the room and later handcuffed him. His office said in a statement that he is no longer detained.
The Homeland Security secretary told reporters she would attempt to speak with Padilla about his concerns.
“When I leave here I’ll have a conversation with him, but I think everyone would agree that wasn’t appropriate,” Noem said about Padilla at the press conference.
“When I leave here I’ll find him and visit and find out really what his concerns were. I think everybody in America would agree that that wasn’t appropriate, that if you wanted to have a civil discussion, especially as a leader, a public official, that you would reach out and try to have a conversation,” she added.