Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) has led Senate Democrats in sending a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem condemning what they say was “inappropriate and excessive use of force” against Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) at a recent press conference.
“The actions taken by U.S. Secret Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, physically manhandling Sen. Padilla after he calmly identified himself as a United States senator, then forcibly shoving him out of the room, are not only unacceptable but an affront to our democratic institutions,” Schumer and other Democrats wrote to Noem.
They expressed their outrage over footage of Padilla being shoved to the ground and placed in handcuffs after he interrupted Noem at a press conference, where he attempted to shout questions at Noem. The incident took place on June 12 in Los Angeles.
Senate Democrats called the images of Padilla being shoved face-down to the floor “deeply disturbing” and “an act of political intimidation” that “underscores your administration’s alarming disregard for the constitutional separation of powers.”
“Since taking office, your department has routinely obstructed congressional oversight, proved unresponsive to requests for information, and withheld information about immigration enforcement actions,” they wrote.
Democratic senators also dismissed the Department of Homeland Security’s claim that Padilla lunged at Noem as “baseless.”
“The incident and your response are part of a shameful pattern of deceit to the American people that suggests a desire to quash dialogue and deride dissenting voices in an effort to shield your department from accountability,” they wrote.
They asked for the department to provide “a full accounting of this incident.”
Senate Democrats have asked that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) allow the Senate to conduct a bipartisan investigation into Padilla’s arrest.
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