California Senator Alex Padilla is getting newfound stardom after he was shockingly wrestled to the ground and handcuffed at a DHS press conference Thursday, and the little-known, soft-spoken senator just got a much higher-profile.

In the wake of California Senator Alex Padilla getting roughed around by federal agents and wrestled to the ground and handcuffed during a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press conference in Los Angeles Thursday, the Chronicle has the clever headline today that “Outraged Democrats handcuffed in ability to do much about Padilla treatment.” Their point being that since the Democrats are out of power, they can only make statements, and cannot call hearings or subpoena DHS Secretary and noted dog murderer Kristi Noem.

But that analysis may be a miscalculation, failing to consider that the incident was an enormous political gift to Padilla, and maybe the Democratic Party as a whole.


Padilla did exactly what he should have done after the shocking incident — he went straight on to CNN, and also hit MSNBC for appearance. On his CNN appearance he explained he was in a conference room a couple rooms away, awaiting a briefing. The briefing was delayed because of Noem’s press conference, so he went to the press conference.

“From the moment I entered the building, I’m being escorted by a member of the National Guard and an FBI agent,” Padilla told CNN. “I ask, ‘Well, since we’re waiting, can we go listen to the press conference?.’ They escort me over to the press conference. They open the door for me.”

“I said who I was, I began to ask a question, and it was maybe half a second later when there was multiple agents on me. They shoved me outside, I was trying to get my question out and not lose my balance,” he continued. “Get down on your knees turns into flat on the floor. I’m trying, but I’m being pushed and pulled in different directions. And finally down on the floor, they handcuff me. Multiple times ‘Why am I being detained?’ No response, no response, no response.”

“Finally minutes later, I guess somebody around the secretary realizes, this is a United States senator. So they come running down the hall and finally say ‘Let him go.”


That does back up the story that Noem, or the staffers and agents, did not realize who Padilla was. But he clearly had his own security detail and was authorized to be there, so the response was certainly more than what was called for.


Governor Gavin Newsom tried to put Republican officials on defense, tweeting at several Republican congressional leaders, “are you going to condemn this? Have a spine.”

Those Republican congressional leaders seem more inclined to blame Padilla than the Trump administration.

“At a minimum, it rises to the level of a censure,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said at a Thursday press conference. “I think there needs to be a message sent by the body as a whole that that is not what we’re going to do… We’re not going to have senators charging cabinet secretaries.”


But the video shows Padilla clearly did not charge at her in any way, and was not “lunging toward the podium,” as Noem claimed on Fox News. The video also shows it’s a lie when Noem claimed he "did not identify himself,” considering Padilla announced “I’m Senator Alex Padilla” right as the whole scuffle began.

This whole incident absolutely raises Padilla’s profile, as he has not been some prominent crusading figure thus far during his time in the Senate. It’s particularly symbolic that he is Latino, and this dovetails into the administration’s brutality towards the immigrants they’re currently rounding up.

It may be true that Noem and the federal agents didn’t know who Padilla was at first. But now millions of Californians, and tens of millions of Americans, know who exactly Alex Padilla is, despite his relative obscurity just 24 hours before this incident.

Related: California Senator Alex Padilla Forcibly Removed From Kristi Noem Event In LA By Federal Goons [SFist]

Image: alexpadilla4ca via Twitter