Democrats demand investigation after Sen. Padilla removed from DHS news conference
Fox News contributor Joe Concha weighs in after Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was handcuffed for barging into DHS Sec. Noem's press conference Thursday
The forcible removal of Sen. Alex Padilla of California – as he attempted to question Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at a news conference – instantly made national headlines.
But Thursday's incident, in which Padilla was handcuffed and briefly detained by officers as he aimed to speak out in opposition to Trump administration immigration raids that sparked unrest in Los Angeles and smaller protests across the country, may also pay off for the senator and fellow Democrats.
Padilla, along with fellow California Democrat Sen. Adam Schiff, and the Democratic National Committee (DNC), on Friday sent out fundraising emails to supporters highlighting the incident.
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Sen. Alex Padilla was temporarily detained after approaching Sec. Noem's podium at the news conference. (Bill Melugin/Fox News)
"If that’s what they do to a United States Senator with a question, imagine what they do to farm workers, day laborers, cooks, and the other nonviolent immigrants they are targeting in California and across the country," Padilla said in his email to supporters, repeating his remarks from Thursday following the incident.
Schiff, in his fundraising email, called Padilla "one of the most decent people I know."
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And the DNC charged that the senator's forced removal was one of the Trump administration's "steps toward authoritarianism."
Videos of the incident showed Padilla attempting to walk up to Noem while she was speaking at a podium during a press conference. Padilla simultaneously attempted to shout over Noem, but law enforcement stepped in and forcefully stopped Padilla's advance.
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla is pushed out of the room as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem holds a news conference regarding the recent protests in Los Angeles on Thursday, Jun. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
Padilla was eventually taken to the ground and handcuffed, the videos showed. Fox News reporters who were present at the news conference said Padilla appeared to be detained for a period of time.
Democrats quickly united in support of Padilla and condemned the Trump administration, while some Republicans accused the senator of grandstanding.
The incident came amid a week of protests in Los Angeles sparked by immigration raids carried out by ICE at the Trump administration's direction.
The president sent in National Guard troops and even mobilized Marines in an attempt to quell the unrest.
President Donald Trump points to a reporter for a question during a signing a bill event, in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, Jun. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump is also fundraising off the unrest in Los Angeles.
The Trump National Committee JFC, which is one of the joint-fundraising committees set up by then-former president during his successful 2024 campaign to win back the White House, sent out a fundraising email on Thursday.
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"The American Homeland is under attack! Cities across the country are on FIRE! Radical Lunatics in masks are HURLING CINDER BLOCKS at our great Cops and Troops! President Trump will not allow it," the email stated.
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