The handcuffing of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) raises the stakes for future clashes between Democrats and the administration as acts of protest have been met with swift law enforcement action.
Democrats have vowed to continue their pressure campaign on the administration over its immigration policies, but the incident involving Padilla and President Trump’s forceful response to Democratic protestors raise questions over how such confrontations will intensify.
The remarkable video shows Padilla being forced to the ground and then handcuffed after interrupting Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference, with the lawmaker identifying himself by name and title and saying he wished to ask a question.
Trump administration officials said Secret Service agents responded as trained — removing an unknown figure as he pushed his way toward the front of a press conference.
Democrats see it as the manhandling of a colleague and an escalation after the administration brought charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) over her involvement in a scuffle that erupted when she and colleagues were attempting to visit a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility.
“This is another incident of Trump and his administration abusing their power and stopping members and elected officials from doing their jobs. I mean, this is just going to keep escalating,” McIver said in response to a question from The Hill.
“This is why we must continue to do oversight. We must continue to do our jobs, and be vocal about what this administration is doing. And it's a threat to our democracy. It's very sad. It's a sad day in America to see everything that is happening, from the situation with me to now with the United States senator being basically tackled to the ground.”
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) raised a more chilling prospect.
“It is a further dissension into anarchy and authoritarianism, and it is time that Republicans in the House and the Senate not only stand up for our institution, but stand up for democracy and call on Donald Trump to stop this lawlessness, or someone is going to get killed,” he told The Hill.
The condemnation from Democrats of Padilla’s treatment was immediate, with California Democrats walking down the Capitol steps in unison for a press conference that swelled as more of their colleagues from other states arrived.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) said Padilla was "assaulted." Numerous lawmakers said he was “manhandled.” And Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) raised concerns that Democrats could face violent consequences even as he stressed the need to push back on what he dubbed an effort by Trump “to show that he is not controlled by our Constitution.”
“We're heading down a dark, dark path, something that in my imagination I never thought we would reach. But this is where we are, and if, if they can do that to a member of Congress from New Jersey, a senior senator who was shouting at the top of his lungs, ‘I am Sen. Alex Padilla,’” Gomez said.
“If it can happen to Alex, it can happen to any of those senators on the other side, or any member of Congress, or anybody. So I want to just stress that we're not going to give up. We're not going to be intimidated. We're not going to be cowards. We're going to keep fighting for our communities. …When is it going to be enough? When somebody gets shot in the streets of Los Angeles? When a member gets shot?” he said before trailing off as he became overcome with emotion.
But many also urged caution and stressed the need to respond peacefully.
“They are trying to stage as many violent and political provocations as possible. And so we're in a dangerous situation right now. So I urge everybody on our side to act with maximum restraint and in the best traditions of non-violence,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, told The Hill before referencing Trump’s Saturday parade.
“Because Donald Trump has a $100 million military extravaganza parade coming to Washington. They told people not to come to work on Friday. And he's threatening to send troops to other cities. So I regard the situation with immense gravity."
The potential for charges for Democrats engaging with law enforcement are no small matter.
McIver, who was indicted by a grand jury this week after the administration accused her of using her forearms to attack law enforcement, could face up to 17 years if convicted. Democrats have called the prosecution a politically motivated case that twists her efforts to brace herself in the scuffle.
And while Padilla is the only lawmaker who has been handcuffed, a staffer for Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) was also handcuffed after Department of Homeland Security officers pushed their way into the office without a warrant while looking for those protesting arrests at immigration courthouses.
At the same time, there are risks to law enforcement, though it's highly unlikely the Trump administration would pursue any charges.
“These thugs who manhandled the senator probably don't know it's a federal offense to attack a member of Congress, but that's not what it's about,” Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on the Capitol steps.
“It shouldn't be anybody in our country [who is] treated this way. So we speak out for Senator Padilla. We're speaking out for everyone who has a right to speak.”
Shortly after Padilla was removed, Noem addressed the matter, saying the lawmaker behaved inappropriately but said she would meet with him, which she did not long after the press conference ended.
“I think everyone would agree that wasn't appropriate,” she said.
“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 said.
The Department of Homeland Security later incorrectly said Padilla failed to identify himself and said he was not wearing his Senate pin, though he was wearing a shirt with the Senate logo on it.
Few Republicans have answered Democrats' calls to rebuke the response to Padilla.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) called the incident “horrible.”
“It's horrible. It is shocking at every level. It's not the America I know," she said.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said, “it looks like he’s being manhandled and physically removed, and it's hard to imagine a justification for that.”
But Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) leveled criticism at Padilla for missing scheduled votes that day.
“I think he should have been here in Washington voting,” Barrasso told reporters.
“He has a responsibility to his constituents to show up at work,” he continued. “Not to go try to make a spectacle of himself.”
For his part, Padilla was also surprised by his treatment, saying in an interview with Pod Save America that it took “maybe half a second for multiple agents to be on me.”
He said he snapped when he heard Noem describe herself as in Los Angeles to “liberate” the city from its governor and mayor, motivating him to interject.
He encouraged people to “continue to speak up.”
“We have First Amendment rights in this country. Speak up, protest peacefully. But continue to speak up because Donald Trump would want nothing more than for all of us to just cower away and say nothing, and let him continue to abuse his power,” he said.
“We cannot let this be the norm.”
But in the aftermath of the incident, he said he’s left wondering what happens when there aren’t cameras rolling, and people who do not have powerful positions like the one he holds encounter DHS and ICE agents conducting the raids.
“If a senator asking a question scares them so much that they'll deploy agents to put a United States senator in handcuffs, imagine what they're doing to people out there, maybe subject to an immigration raid, who have a question…may be requesting their lawyer but not getting that opportunity,” he said.
“These are dangerous times for the United States of America.”
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