On June 12, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) attempted to ask the Trump administration about the immigration raids in Los Angeles. Immediately, he was removed from the room, tackled to the ground, and handcuffed.
“You’ve seen the video. I was pushed, pulled, and struggled to maintain my balance. I was forced to the ground, first my knees and then flat on my chest,” Padilla said, his voice breaking, at a congressional hearing on June 17. “As I was handcuffed and marched down the hallway, I was repeatedly asking, ‘Why am I being detained?’ Not once did they tell me why.”
On June 7, the Trump administration deployed nearly 5,000 domestic Marines and National Guard troops to LA after what it said were increasing violent acts of protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who were “performing federal functions and supporting the faithful execution of federal immigration laws.”
Trump wrote in a memorandum that the protests threatened the security of federal immigration detention facilities and other federal property and inflicted significant damage.
“To the extent that protests or acts of violence directly inhibit the execution of the laws, they constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States,” the memorandum said.
Congressman Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) called the actions an “extremely dangerous precedent.”
According to a statement released by Gov. Gavin Newsom, protests before the deployment were about 250 people, but after military presence, they escalated in size to 3,000.
At the hearing on June 17, Padilla recounted his experience of being removed from the press conference and tackled on June 12 when attempting to ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question about the LA ICE raids.
Padilla said he wanted transparency that day from an administration that he believed had done everything but provide justification for its mission in LA. But he wasn’t given the chance, even after stating he was a U.S. senator.
Padilla said this experience wasn’t just about him, though.
“If you watched what unfolded last week and thought what happened is just about one politician and one press conference, you’re missing the point,” Padilla said. “If that is what the administration is willing to do to a United States senator for having the authority to simply ask a question, imagine what they’ll do to any American who dares to speak up.”
Carbajal told New Times via email he was disturbed by the “aggressive treatment” toward Padilla that day, and the incident was “beyond unacceptable.”
“The secretary and the Department of Homeland Security must be held accountable,” Carbajal said.
Carbajal has also challenged the administration himself, calling the U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth an “embarrassment to the United States” during a hearing on June 12—a hearing about whether deploying the Marines in LA was lawful.
Within his five minutes of questioning, Carbajal accused Hegseth of endangering the lives of the national military and called for him to step down from his position.
“You should get the hell out and let someone competent lead this department,” Carbajal said before he concluded. Δ
This article appears in Winning Images 2025.