Sen. Alex Padilla is forcibly removed from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s news conference in Los Angeles

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was forcibly removed from a news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday and briefly detained after trying to question Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

“I am Sen. Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” Padilla said to Noem, which prompted several men to physically push him out of the room. It was unclear who the men were as several were dressed in plainclothes.

Padilla’s office shared a video of the incident with NBC News. The video shows Padilla being taken into a hallway outside and pushed face forward onto the ground as officers with FBI-identifying vests told the senator to put his hands behind his back. The officers then handcuffed him.

Padilla’s office said in a statement that Padilla was in L.A. to perform congressional oversight of the government’s operations in the city and across his state. The statement said that the senator is no longer detained.

“He was in the federal building to receive a briefing with General Guillot and was listening to Secretary Noem’s press conference,” his office said. “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.”

DHS did not immediately return a request for comment.

Noem was in L.A. to address the ongoing demonstrations protesting President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the region.

Democrats have ramped up criticism of the Trump administration after the president deployed National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to L.A. in response to the ongoing protests. Dozens of demonstrations have taken place across the country in the days that followed and more are planned this weekend.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., denounced the incident on the Senate floor. “I just saw something that sickened my stomach. The manhandling of a United States Senator, we need immediate answers to what the hell went on,” he said.

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the state’s other senator, wrote on X that Padilla “represents the best of the Senate. The disgraceful and disrespectful conduct of DHS agents, pushing and shoving him out of a briefing like that, demands our condemnation. He will not be silenced or intimidated. His questions will be answered. I’m with Alex.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a post on X that Padilla “is one of the most decent people I know.” “This is outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful. Trump and his shock troops are out of control. This must end now,” he added.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, of which Padilla is a member, called what happened “unacceptable.”

“We demand a full investigation and consequences for every official involved in this assault against a sitting US senator,” the group said on X.

The incident follows a string of arrests of Democratic elected officials related to immigration. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested last month for allegedly trespassing at an ICE facility in New Jersey. The charges were ultimately dropped, but he has sued interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba over the incident and Ricky J. Patel, a special agent in charge of the Newark division of Homeland Security Investigations.

Earlier this week, Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., was indicted on federal charges that stemmed from the same confrontation with law enforcement.

Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan also suggested that Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass could be arrested too.