WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democratic U.S. Senator Alex Padilla was shoved out of a room, forced to the ground and handcuffed by security after attempting to ask a question at a Thursday press conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“I am Senator Alex Padilla, I have questions for the secretary,” Padilla said during the press conference where Noem was discussing protests in Los Angeles over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
“Hands off,” Padilla said before the was ushered out of the room.
Padilla said in a statement that he was forced to the ground and handcuffed by security.
A video posted online showed three agents pushing Padilla to the ground and handcuffing his hands behind his back. Reuters was not immediately able to confirm the authenticity of the video.
Lawmakers from both parties criticized the move.
“Senator Padilla is a big, tall guy, and to see how he was handled out of that room is wrong and sick,” Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski told reporters at the Capitol.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer blasted the incident in a speech on the Senate floor.
“I just saw something that sickened my stomach– the manhandling of a United States senator,” Schumer said. “We need immediate answers to what the hell went on.”
(Reporting by Rami Ayyub, Jasper Ward, David Morgan, Bo Erickson and Richard Cowan; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Scott Malone)
