06/16/2025

U.S. senator forcefully removed from press conference

U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was forcefully removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's news conference and handcuffed in Los Angeles last week. The incident occurred as he tried to ask about the immigration raids that have sparked protests across California and other states. “If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question … you can only imagine what they’re doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day laborers,” Padilla said after the incident.

■Class discussion: Did Padilla try to identify himself as a senator to the federal agents dragging him out of the press conference? Did the agents overreact? Did Padilla appear to pose a threat to Noem? Was it right for an agent to stop the video recording of the incident? Have U.S. politics become so divisive that public officials – including lawmakers, judges, governors, and members of the executive branch – face violent attacks? Is political violence a new phenomenon or something that only occurs here?