Senator Alex Padilla gives speech on his removal from a press conference in L.A.
WASHINGTON (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) is speaking out about his forcible removal from a news conference in Los Angeles last week.
Senator Padilla took to the floor of the Chamber Tuesday to recount the incident.
He was emotional as he described the experience of being wrestled to the ground and handcuffed after identifying himself as a U.S. senator while trying to ask a question of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
"You've seen the video. I was pushed and pulled. Struggled to maintaining my balance...I was forced to the ground, first on my knees, and then flat on my chest, and as I was handcuffed and marched down a hallway, repeatedly asking, 'Why am I being detained?' Not once did they tell me why," Padilla recounted.
Padilla called Noem's remarks calling for the "liberation" of Los Angeles from Democratic leadership un-American.
"When I heard something so blatantly un-American from the Secretary of Homeland Security, a cabinet official, of course, I was compelled, both as a senator and as an American, to speak up," Padilla explained.
Padilla then lashed out at President Donald Trump, calling him a "tyrant."
"He wants the spectacle, not just to distract but to justify his undemocratic crackdowns and his authoritarian power grabs," Padilla expressed.
He criticized congressional Republicans for seeding power to the president and he called on everyday Americans who oppose President Trump's agenda to continue peacefully protesting.
"We all have a responsibility to speak up and to push back before it's too late. So I do encourage people to keep peacefully protesting. There's nothing more patriotic than to peacefully protest for your rights," Padilla said. "If this administration is this afraid of just one senator with a question, colleagues, imagine what the voices of tens of millions of Americans peacefully protesting can do."
The White House and Department of Homeland Security didn't immediately respond to requests for comment about the senator's remarks.
