'Absolutely abhorrent and outrageous': Officials react to federal agents roughing up Sen. Alex Padilla

Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times on Jun 12, 2025

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LOS ANGELES — Shock and outrage were just some of the reactions from elected officials over U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla of California being forcibly removed from a news briefing and handcuffed at a federal building in Los Angeles.

“I just saw something that sickened my stomach, the manhandling of a United States Senator,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement. “We need immediate answers to what the hell went on.”

Schumer called for a full investigation into the episode in which Padilla was pushed, shoved to the ground and handcuffed by federal police and U.S. Secret Service accompanying Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. In the video shared on social media, Padilla can be heard identifying himself before he was pushed out of the room.

“It’s despicable. It’s disgusting,” Schumer said from the Senate floor. “It is so un-American, so un-American, and we need answers. We need answers immediately.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the incident “absolutely abhorrent and outrageous.”

“He is a sitting United States Senator. This administration’s violent attacks on our city must end,” Bass said in a post to X.

U.S. Congressman Jimmy Gomez, D-Los Angeles, said Padilla was conducting oversight “over the lawlessness” of the Trump administration.

“This isn’t just shocking, it’s a threat to the rule of law and democratic accountability,” Gomez said in a post to X.

In a statement, U.S. Congresswoman Luz Rivas, D-North Hollywood, called the incident against Padilla “appalling and horrifying.”

“Throughout his career, Senator Padilla has been a champion for all Californians. As a son of Mexican immigrants, he knows the struggles and the fear that many families are facing today,” Rivas said. “Americans watched in horror as this Administration quickly resorted to violent actions to silence Senator Padilla, erase our democracy, and rewrite our nation’s values.”

“The Trump Administration and DHS continues to operate with intimidation and instill fear in our communities whether you are a U.S. Senator, a U.S. citizen, or an immigrant. Everyone should be outraged at how this Administration is treating anyone who dares to stand in their way.

Pablo Alvarado, co-director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, said the incident was a wake-up call for all Californians to peacefully protest and nonviolently condemn the administration’s abuses.

“This unjust attack on Senator Padilla is also an attack against all the people he represents, especially the immigrant communities who have been suffering the most under the Administration’s lawless onslaught of aggression and terror,” Alvarado said in a statement.

California Democratic Party chair Rusty Hicks called the attack against Padilla “another gross abuse of power by the Trump Administration and its accomplices in the Department of Homeland Security” and views this latest incident as a dangerous escalation in political discourse.

“We firmly believe the power of the people is stronger than the people in power,” Hicks said in a statement.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom called Padilla “one of the most decent people I know.”

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

He then posted an image of Padilla on the carpeted floor of the federal building in Los Angeles as federal police handcuffed him.

“If they can handcuff a U.S. Senator for asking a question, imagine what they will do to you,” Newsom said.

The official X account for the Department of Homeland Security responded to Newsom’s post by claiming that Padilla did not identify himself. Secret Service thought he was an attacker, according to the agency. Video posted on social media showed Padilla identifying himself as federal agents started to push him out of the room.

“Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands,” the statement said. “Secretary Noem met with Senator Padilla after and held a 15-minute meeting.”

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