Federal agents forcibly removed U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla from a press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday in Los Angeles, taking him to the ground and handcuffing him, according to the California Democrat’s office and videos posted online.

The incident prompted Democratic lawmakers to call for an investigation, including Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York, who on the floor said the videos “sickened my stomach.”

One video from the press conference, where Noem was speaking about efforts to “liberate” Los Angeles from at-times violent protests in the past week, shows unnamed officials pushing Padilla out of the room while he is attempting to speak.

Padilla can be heard identifying himself as a U.S. senator, saying that he had questions for Noem and telling the officials to take their hands off him. Noem continued to speak as Padilla was forced out of the room.

A second video shows Padilla being forced to the ground and handcuffed. A figure off screen says that no recording is allowed in the area.

A statement from Padilla’s office said that he was in California as part of his congressional oversight duties and was in the building to receive a briefing from Gen. Gregory Guillot of the U.S. Northern Command, who has been commanding the Marine deployment in L.A.

The statement said that Padilla then went to 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,” the statement said.

Speaking to reporters after the incident, Padilla said the Trump administration has not answered questions about their “increasingly extreme immigration enforcement actions” in the last few months.

Padilla said he attended the press conference to try and get more information and tried to ask a question, then was forced from the room, forced to the ground and handcuffed. Padilla said he was not arrested or detained.

“If this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question, you can only imagine what they are doing to farmworkers, to cooks, to day laborers, out in the Los Angeles community, throughout California and throughout the country. We will hold this administration accountable,” Padilla said.

The incident comes amid President Donald Trump’s threats to use the Insurrection Act in response to protests over Trump’s immigration raids in L.A.

Trump has already deployed several hundred Marines to the city and federalized thousands of members of the California National Guard over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom and California leaders, who say the deployments only enflamed tensions over Trump’s immigration policy.

On the floor Thursday, Schumer criticized the “manhandling of a United States senator, we need immediate answers as to what the hell went on.”

“What happened reeks — reeks — of totalitarianism. This is not what democracies do,” Schumer said.

Schumer said that Padilla was at the event legally and trying to get answers about what the administration had been doing in Los Angeles.

Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., also condemned the action in a floor speech.

“What happens when it happens to a Republican? Will I hear from my Republican colleagues then?” Luján said. “Will someone here have the backbone to tell the president of the United States you have crossed a line, stop it?”

Newsom defended Padilla in a statement on social media Thursday. “This is outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful. Trump and his shock troops are out of control. This must end now,” Newsom said.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus issued a statement Thursday also condemning the detention of Padilla.

“This is unacceptable, full stop. @SenAlexPadilla attended an open press conference to engage in debate, to represent his state, to do his job. We demand a full investigation and consequences for every official involved in this assault against a sitting U.S. senator,” the statement said.

California’s congressional delegation and senior Democratic leaders characterized the incident as an assault on Padilla, which is a crime under federal law, at a press conference Thursday.

Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., pointed out the incident took place in the same building where Padilla has a state office. At times Gomez choked up describing the stakes of the incident.

“When is it going to be enough when somebody gets shot in the streets of Los Angeles, when a member gets shot?” Gomez said.

Democrats said the incident dovetailed with Trump’s heavy-handed approach to immigration enforcement. “This is authoritarian behavior that is spreading throughout the nation. It is a poison. It is a cancer. This is something that needs to end,” Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., said.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told reporters that it’s “hard to imagine the justification.”

“But I don’t know what happened prior to” the video, Collins said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters Padilla “got what he wanted. He’s on video.”

“If you come to my press conference, you need to be respectful. If you’re the press, you can ask me questions if you want to attend. Fine, but he got what he wanted,” Graham said. “What he ought to be doing, in my view, is making sure that we have rational immigration policies. And Senator Padilla, who’s a nice man, sat on the sidelines for four years, watched the border completely be blown apart, people coming by the millions, and it’s creating problems for our country.”

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(Chris Johnson and Sandhya Raman contributed to this report.)

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