Tag Archives: Alex Padilla

Atlantic Daily: Handcuffing a U.S. Senator Is a Warning

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The treatment of Alex Padilla is part of a pattern of harassing Donald Trump’s opposition.

Like knowing the names of lots of federal judges, widespread familiarity with specific theories of authoritarian rule is not generally a hallmark of a healthy society. But as the United States’ vital signs get more dire, Steven Levitsky’s and Lucan A. Way’s concept of “competitive authoritarianism” feels unsettlingly relevant.

The idea came to mind again when federal officers manhandled and then handcuffed Senator Alex Padilla, a California Democrat, yesterday as he tried to ask a question of Kristi Noem, the secretary of Homeland Security, at a press conference in Los Angeles.

Because it took place at a media event, the incident was recorded clearly on video, and it’s shocking. Nearly as disturbing as the footage is the fact that even though the incident is on tape, the Trump administration attempted to lie baldly about what happened. Officials said Padilla never identified himself as a senator and that security personnel thought he was an attacker; video shows him audibly identifying himself and wearing a U.S. Senate shirt. They said he lunged at Noem; video shows nothing of the sort. (If only Noem’s security detail had been so vigilant when her purse was stolen in April.)

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Handcuffing a U.S. Senator Is a Warning
The treatment of Alex Padilla is part of a pattern of harassing Donald Trump’s opposition.

https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2025/06/alex-padilla-noem-dhs-handcuff-authoritarianism/683176

Deadline: Trump Regains Control Of Troops In L.A. From Newsom Thanks To Appeals Court; Governor Was To Take Command Of National Guard On Friday – Updated

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Gavin Newsom’s renewed control of the California National Guard didn’t last more than a few hours thanks to a federal appeals court.

“The request for an administrative stay is GRANTED,” the court wrote in a short order tonight after the White House and DOJ came up short this afternoon in their bid to maintain a hold on the unrequested and widely seen as unnecassary troop deployment. “The district court’s June 12 temporary restraining order is temporarily stayed pending further order,” a three-judge panel of two Trump appointees and one Joe Biden appointee said.

All of which has put the brakes on returning control of the Guard that Trump federalized on June 7 to Gov. Newsom at noon on June 13. It gives Trump at least one more hot weekend to inflame the situation on the ground in L.A. with more immigration enforcement raids. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals trio has now set a June 17 Zoom hearing on the matter.

Newsom Beats Trump As Court Curtails POTUS’ “Illegal” Use Of Troops In L.A.
POTUS just took a hit in his battle with the Governor of California for the streets of LA & troops being there

https://deadline.com/2025/06/trump-court-ruling-troops-la-newsom-1236432420

FBI Thugs Rough Up U.S. Senator Alex Padilla After He Dared To Ask A Question

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NBC News: Sen. Alex Padilla is forcibly removed from DHS Secretary Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem’s news conference in Los Angeles

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[Bimbo #2] Noem was in L.A. to address the ongoing protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Federal agents handcuffed Padilla after his removal.

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was forcibly removed from a news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday after he tried to question Homeland Security Secretary Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem during a media event related to immigration.

“I am Sen. Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” Padilla told [Bimbo #2] Noem, which prompted several men dressed in plainclothes to push him out of the room. A top FBI official later said bureau personnel and Secret Service agents were involved in his removal.

Padilla’s office shared a video of the incident with NBC News. The video shows Padilla being taken into a hallway outside and pushed face forward onto the ground as officers with FBI-identifying vests tell him to put his hands behind his back. The officers then handcuff him.

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Padilla to reporters later Thursday that he was waiting for a scheduled briefing from military officials when he learned [Bimbo #2] Noem was in the same building and decided to join her briefing.

“I was there peacefully,” he said. “At one point, I had a question, and so I began to ask a question. I was almost immediately forcibly removed from the room, I was forced to the ground, and I was handcuffed.”

Like everything else that spews out of her mouth, Bimbo #2 Noem lied; He had clearly identified himself, and Bimbo #2 Noem had met with him previously on several occasions:

Bimbo #2 Noem offered a different account in an interview on Fox News in which she falsely said Padilla did not identify himself before he was forced out.

And a summary from Senator Padilla:

“If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, 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 farmworkers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country,” he said.

Sen. Alex Padilla is forcibly removed from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s news conference in Los Angeles
Noem was in L.A. to address the ongoing protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Federal agents handcuffed Padilla after his removal.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/rcna212688