California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla attempts to get access to a press conference led by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at the Wilshire Federal Building on Monday, June 12, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.
Top Democrat Launches House Probe Into FBI Role in 'Disgraceful' Arrest of Padilla
Rep. Jamie Raskin described the incident as "the most recent in a string of increasingly flagrant abuses of power by the Trump Administration to deter congressional oversight and intimidate Members of Congress."
A top House Democrat is launching a probe into the FBI's forcible removal of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) from a public press conference in Los Angeles last week, the latest in a pattern of arrests and physical assaults by the Trump administration against Democratic politicians.
Padilla was tackled to the ground and dragged out of the Wilshire Federal Building in handcuffs when he attempted to ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question about the outsized federal response to protests in Los Angeles against increasingly aggressive raids and tactics by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
According to Axios, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, is leading a probe into the incident and calling on the FBI to launch a formal investigation.
In a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, Raskin demanded that the Bureau "immediately provide answers" regarding the "disgraceful and indefensible assault."
In the aftermath of the arrest of Padilla, the White House has made false claims about the events leading up to the shocking display, many of which are disproved by video of the encounter.
Noem has said that Padilla "burst into the room, started lunging towards the podium, interrupting me and elevating his voice, and was stopped, did not identify himself, and was removed from the room."
However, video of the incident shows that Padilla identified himself, by name, as a U.S. senator. There is no evidence of him "lunging" toward the secretary.
Raskin has described the incident as "the most recent in a string of increasingly flagrant abuses of power by the Trump administration to deter congressional oversight and intimidate members of Congress."
On June 10, the Department of Justice brought charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers outside an ICE detention facility the previous month. Noem accused McIver of "body slamming" a female ICE officer, but this claim was disproved by a Washington Post review of video evidence.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was also charged for trespassing as part of the same incident, though the charges were later dropped.
But Democratic politicians have continued to be roughed up by federal law enforcement. Earlier this week, New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested by masked ICE agents as he escorted a man out of immigration court.
"You don't have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens," Lander said in the video of his arrest.
The agents refused to provide a warrant despite repeated requests from Lander, who is a U.S. citizen. After he was released, the Department of Homeland Security released a brazenly false statement, claiming that Lander "was arrested for assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer," which is also disproved by video evidence.
Raskin called out these incidents and other aggressive actions against political dissenters in his letter. He called on the FBI to disclose whether an internal investigation was underway and whether the officers involved in Padilla's arrest or other incidents like it would face discipline.
"Like it or not, the people of the United States enjoy broad and robust First Amendment rights and now deserve urgent answers from their government about these high-handed authoritarian tactics," Raskin said.
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just two days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
A top House Democrat is launching a probe into the FBI's forcible removal of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) from a public press conference in Los Angeles last week, the latest in a pattern of arrests and physical assaults by the Trump administration against Democratic politicians.
Padilla was tackled to the ground and dragged out of the Wilshire Federal Building in handcuffs when he attempted to ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question about the outsized federal response to protests in Los Angeles against increasingly aggressive raids and tactics by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
According to Axios, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, is leading a probe into the incident and calling on the FBI to launch a formal investigation.
In a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, Raskin demanded that the Bureau "immediately provide answers" regarding the "disgraceful and indefensible assault."
In the aftermath of the arrest of Padilla, the White House has made false claims about the events leading up to the shocking display, many of which are disproved by video of the encounter.
Noem has said that Padilla "burst into the room, started lunging towards the podium, interrupting me and elevating his voice, and was stopped, did not identify himself, and was removed from the room."
However, video of the incident shows that Padilla identified himself, by name, as a U.S. senator. There is no evidence of him "lunging" toward the secretary.
Raskin has described the incident as "the most recent in a string of increasingly flagrant abuses of power by the Trump administration to deter congressional oversight and intimidate members of Congress."
On June 10, the Department of Justice brought charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers outside an ICE detention facility the previous month. Noem accused McIver of "body slamming" a female ICE officer, but this claim was disproved by a Washington Post review of video evidence.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was also charged for trespassing as part of the same incident, though the charges were later dropped.
But Democratic politicians have continued to be roughed up by federal law enforcement. Earlier this week, New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested by masked ICE agents as he escorted a man out of immigration court.
"You don't have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens," Lander said in the video of his arrest.
The agents refused to provide a warrant despite repeated requests from Lander, who is a U.S. citizen. After he was released, the Department of Homeland Security released a brazenly false statement, claiming that Lander "was arrested for assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer," which is also disproved by video evidence.
Raskin called out these incidents and other aggressive actions against political dissenters in his letter. He called on the FBI to disclose whether an internal investigation was underway and whether the officers involved in Padilla's arrest or other incidents like it would face discipline.
"Like it or not, the people of the United States enjoy broad and robust First Amendment rights and now deserve urgent answers from their government about these high-handed authoritarian tactics," Raskin said.
A top House Democrat is launching a probe into the FBI's forcible removal of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) from a public press conference in Los Angeles last week, the latest in a pattern of arrests and physical assaults by the Trump administration against Democratic politicians.
Padilla was tackled to the ground and dragged out of the Wilshire Federal Building in handcuffs when he attempted to ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question about the outsized federal response to protests in Los Angeles against increasingly aggressive raids and tactics by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
According to Axios, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, is leading a probe into the incident and calling on the FBI to launch a formal investigation.
In a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, Raskin demanded that the Bureau "immediately provide answers" regarding the "disgraceful and indefensible assault."
In the aftermath of the arrest of Padilla, the White House has made false claims about the events leading up to the shocking display, many of which are disproved by video of the encounter.
Noem has said that Padilla "burst into the room, started lunging towards the podium, interrupting me and elevating his voice, and was stopped, did not identify himself, and was removed from the room."
However, video of the incident shows that Padilla identified himself, by name, as a U.S. senator. There is no evidence of him "lunging" toward the secretary.
Raskin has described the incident as "the most recent in a string of increasingly flagrant abuses of power by the Trump administration to deter congressional oversight and intimidate members of Congress."
On June 10, the Department of Justice brought charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers outside an ICE detention facility the previous month. Noem accused McIver of "body slamming" a female ICE officer, but this claim was disproved by a Washington Post review of video evidence.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was also charged for trespassing as part of the same incident, though the charges were later dropped.
But Democratic politicians have continued to be roughed up by federal law enforcement. Earlier this week, New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested by masked ICE agents as he escorted a man out of immigration court.
"You don't have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens," Lander said in the video of his arrest.
The agents refused to provide a warrant despite repeated requests from Lander, who is a U.S. citizen. After he was released, the Department of Homeland Security released a brazenly false statement, claiming that Lander "was arrested for assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer," which is also disproved by video evidence.
Raskin called out these incidents and other aggressive actions against political dissenters in his letter. He called on the FBI to disclose whether an internal investigation was underway and whether the officers involved in Padilla's arrest or other incidents like it would face discipline.
"Like it or not, the people of the United States enjoy broad and robust First Amendment rights and now deserve urgent answers from their government about these high-handed authoritarian tactics," Raskin said.