U.S. senator beaten, handcuffed by FBI at press conference on immigration raids

United States Senator Alex Padilla was shoved, forced to the ground, and handcuffed by security after attempting to ask a question at a press conference on held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about immigration raids.

“I am Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” Padilla said during the press conference in Los Angeles, where Noem was discussing protests in the city over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown on Thursday, June 12, 2025.

“Hands off,” Padilla, 52, said to security agents before he was ushered out of the room.

A video shared by the Democratic senator showed what happened next as three agents pushed him to the ground and handcuffed his hands behind his back.

Padilla represents California, where Los Angeles has seen days of protests against Trump’s crackdown on migrants.

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The White House responded by sending National Guard troops and U.S. Marines into the city, saying they would help secure federal buildings and defend Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, Reuters reported.

The Department of Homeland Security in a statement on X accused Padilla of engaging in “disrespectful political theater”.

“@SecretService thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately,” the department said, adding that Noem later met with Padilla.

Padilla, in a statement released shortly after, said: “If this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question, you can only imagine what they’re doing to farmers, to cooks, to day-laborers throughout the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country.”

The Star