GOP Rep. Warren Davidson (Ohio) suggested Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was supporting Mexican drug cartels during his Thursday protest at a presser hosted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“I didn’t know the Senate had a Cartel Caucus to protect the interests of the cartels, but maybe so,” Davidson wrote in a Thursday post on the social platform X.
Padilla was thrown to the ground by law enforcement and detained after interrupting remarks by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
“I’m Sen. Alex Padilla. I have a question for the secretary,” Padilla, the senior senator from California, said as he was hauled off by several men.
The incident follows large-scale protests in Los Angeles over the Trump administration’s efforts to combat illegal immigration through widespread detainment and removals.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted four raids last week resulting in the arrest of 44 individuals including a local labor union president. Demonstrations started shortly after as residents protested overpopulation at ICE facilities, inhumane treatment and wrongful seizures.
“What just happened to @SenAlexPadilla is absolutely abhorrent and outrageous. He is a sitting United States Senator,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) wrote in a Thursday post on X.
“This administration’s violent attacks on our city must end,” she added.
Her words were echoed by former Vice President Kamala Harris, who represented California in the upper chamber prior to serving as second in command during the Biden administration.
“United States Senator Alex Padilla was representing the millions of Californians who are demanding answers to this Administration’s actions in Southern California. This is a shameful and stunning abuse of power,” Harris wrote on X.
However, DHS and White House officials said Secret Service agents were right to detain Padilla and falsely claimed he did not identify himself as a lawmaker.
“Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem,” DHS wrote on X.
“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.”
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