Democratic Sen. Padilla forcibly removed from DHS press conference in Los Angeles

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was forcibly removed from a Homeland Security press conference led by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles on Thursday.

Noem was in Los Angeles to discuss immigration enforcement actions in the city and ongoing protests over those efforts. Padilla attempted to ask a question during the event before he was forced to the ground by federal agents and handcuffed before being released, Padilla told reporters later.

A statement on the Homeland Security Department's X account accused Padilla of "disrespectful political theatre," charging that he did not comply with requests to back away. The statement said that the senator and Noem spoke for 15 minutes after the incident.