Updated at 4:34 p.m. on Thursday, June 12, 2025.
“This type of stuff happens in dictatorships, not democracies.”
That was the conclusion of Democratic Rep. Jason Crow in a post on X highlighting a video of California Sen. Alex Padilla being forcibly removed from a press briefing Thursday by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Padilla interrupted Noem’s press conference and attempted to shout questions at her before being pushed out of the room by uniformed and plainclothes security. A video shows him being taken down to the ground and handcuffed in the hallway outside by federal agents.
“When a U.S. Senator gets thrown to the ground, manhandled, and handcuffed for doing their job, ask yourself — how will they treat you & your family?” Crow wrote in his post. “Donald Trump wants total control. But we will not be intimidated.”
Rep. Joe Neguse called for Noem to resign, saying what happened to the senator was “a disgrace, and an affront to our democracy and the rule of law.”
Dean of the Colorado delegation, Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette, defended Padilla for trying to ask a question at a “public press conference.”
“We live in a democracy, not an autocracy. The Trump administration must be held accountable, and these actions against Americans exercising their lawful rights, including elected officials, must end immediately,” she said.
Rep. Brittany Pettersen said that it was “terrifying to see this happening in the United States.”
Colorado’s Senators also weighed in.
“Alex Padilla is one of the most reasonable and thoughtful Senators I know. I am sure some in the White House will try to minimize how serious this is, but it is disgraceful. There needs to be immediate and full accountability,” wrote Sen. John Hickenlooper.
Sen. Michael Bennet called the incident “a gross abuse of power” and demanded a full investigation.
Padilla told reporters after the incident that he was in the building to get a briefing from federal officials and went to Noem’s press event because he’d been unable to get a meeting with DHS.
The department released its own statement about the incident, calling Padilla’s actions at the press conference “disrespectful political theatre.”
“(He) interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem. Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands. @SecretService thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately. Secretary Noem met with Senator Padilla after and held a 15-minute meeting,” the Department of Homeland Security wrote.
A video shows Padilla identifying himself as a senator.
Colorado’s Republican lawmakers repeated the view that it was Padilla who was out of line.
Freshman Rep. Jeff Crank told CPR News it was “another example of the Left intentionally impeding law enforcement.”
Rep. Lauren Boebert used retweets to make her views clear. She surfaced a two-year-old post from Padilla, in which he wrote, “NO ONE is above the law. Share if you agree.” It is unclear what law Boebert believes Padilla broke.
She also retweeted a former Newsmax producer’s message: “BREAKING: Democrats endorse storming press conferences of government officials and rushing toward the podium where they are speaking.”
When asked about the incident while leaving a vote in the House, freshman GOP Rep. Jeff Hurd said he had not seen the video and didn’t want to comment until he does.
CPR News also reached out to GOP Rep. Gabe Evans’ office for comment, and will update if we receive a response.
