A senator who has represented California in the U.S. Senate since 2021 was forcibly removed from the homeland security secretary’s press conference on Thursday after trying to ask a question while Kristi Noem was speaking. Several law enforcement officers descended on him as he tried to demand answers from Ms. Noem. 

Senator Padilla — a child of immigrants from Mexico — has been critical of President Trump’s deployment of National Guards troops and Marines to his home city of Los Angeles. 

As Ms. Noem was briefing the press, Mr. Padilla interrupted to try to ask a question. Law enforcement quickly began trying to remove him from the room, though he fought back. 

“I am Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” he said as several men tried to pull him toward the door. A video of the confrontation was posted to X by a Fox News reporter, Bill Melugin. 

Mr. Padilla was shoved up against a wall as he tried to speak. Ultimately, four men were able to push him out of the room and into the hallway. “Hands off,” he said as he was pushed out of the room. 

Two other men — one of whom was dressed in FBI tactical gear — then grabbed Mr. Padilla by his arms and escorted him down the hallway. The Bulwark, a center-right digital publication, then shared a photo from Mr. Padilla’s staff showing the senator face-down on the floor being handcuffed by officers.

Ms. Noem did not stop her press conference or acknowledge the situation as it was happening. 

After she and others were done briefing the press, she took questions. One reporter asked about Mr. Padilla being pushed out of the room, leading Ms. Noem to say that she was happy to talk with the senator in a different setting. 

“I don’t even know the senator. He did not request a meeting with me,” Ms. Noem said. “When I leave here, I’ll have a conversation with him and visit and find out what really his concerns were.”

“I think everybody in America would agree that that wasn’t appropriate,” she said of the senator’s interruption. “If he wanted to have a civil discussion, especially as a leader, a public official, then you would reach out and try to have a conversation.”

After the spectacle, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that Mr. Padilla did not identify himself before interrupting Ms. Noem, leading Secret Service to believe that he could be an attacker. 

“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,” the department said, even though videos shows Mr. Padilla clearly identifying himself before he was pushed from the room. 

Governor Newsom, who appointed Mr. Padilla to the Senate, called his removal and detention “dictatorial.”

“Senator Alex Padilla is one of the most decent people I know,” Mr. Newsom said in a post on X. “This is outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful. Trump and his shock troops are out of control. This must end now.”