Handcuffing, Forcible Removal of Sen. Padilla is a ‘Blatant Abuse of Power’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla was violently forced out of a press conference for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, before the Senator was tackled to the ground and hand-cuffed.
In response, Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, issued the following statement: “This is utterly unacceptable. This was an open event and the Senator was there to do his job and represent his state. Answering the questions of a sitting U.S. Senator with assault is a blatant abuse of power, demonstrating the Trump administration’s increasingly brazen authoritarian tendencies.”