Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) stated the video of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) being forcibly faraway from a press convention held by Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem and thrown to the bottom “reeks of totalitarianism” and known as for an investigation into the way it transpired.
A visibly offended Schumer lambasted the administration for not giving Democrats solutions concerning the previous week of protests in Los Angeles and stated Padilla was doing his job as a senator to hunt data.
“He’s been thrown to the ground … man-handled. Brutally taken down, handcuffed. It was disgusting,” Schumer stated. “Anybody who seems at this, it’s going to flip their abdomen. … Reeks of totalitarianism.
“This is not what democracies do,” Schumer continued. “Sen. Padilla was there legitimately in that building to ask questions of what’s going on in California, which everybody wants to know answers to. We don’t get answers when we ask the administration’s questions in one way or another. Sen. Padilla was exercising his duty as a senator for his constituents to try to find out what happened.”
The New York Democrat went on to name for a full probe into how Padilla ended up on the bottom and handcuffed.
“Instead, he gets man-handled, thrown out of the room, thrown on the ground and handcuffed,” Schumer continued. “We need a full investigation immediately as to what happened and who did what and what’s going to be done to see that this doesn’t happen again — to Sen. Padilla or other American citizens who are seeking their right to redress.”
“It’s despicable, it’s disgusting, it’s so un-American,” he added. “We need answers. We need answers immediately.”
Padilla appeared to interrupt Noem towards the start of her press convention, which prompted safety to confront him. He recognized himself, however the safety officers forcibly eliminated him from the room and later handcuffed him. His workplace stated in a press release that he’s not detained.
The Homeland Safety secretary instructed reporters she would try to talk with Padilla about his issues.
“When I leave here I’ll have a conversation with him, but I think everyone would agree that wasn’t appropriate,” Noem stated about Padilla on the press convention.
“When I leave here I’ll find him and visit and find out really what his concerns were. I think everybody in America would agree that that wasn’t appropriate, that if you wanted to have a civil discussion, especially as a leader, a public official, that you would reach out and try to have a conversation,” she added.
