NJ senators criticize forcible removal of CA senator during DHS news conference
Sens. Andy Kim and Cory Booker say they are outraged by Thursday’s events involving California Sen. Alex Padilla.
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New Jersey’s senators are speaking out after a fellow senator was forcibly removed from a news conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Sens. Andy Kim and Cory Booker say they are outraged by Thursday’s events involving California Sen. Alex Padilla.
Padilla interrupted Noem as she was making her first remarks and then started to shout questions at her.
Security guards then surrounded Padilla and took him out of the room. The senator’s office released a video showing Padilla being forced to the ground and handcuffed.
“This is not a time to be silent. This is a time for us to be united and show the rest of the country what this institution means. Otherwise, we might as well go home,” Kim said. “I, for one, want to fight for my colleague, fight for each other, fight for the Senate and fight for our democracy."
"This is a farce of a justification...This should not be about partisanship. This should be about patriotism. This should not be about tribalism. It should be standing up and being a leader in this moment. This is wrong. This violence is wrong,” said Booker.
When asked about the incident, Noem says that she and Padilla spoke after the news conference for about 10 to 15 minutes. She claims that Padilla did not identify himself before being approached by security.
"I wish that he would have reached out and identified himself and let us know who he was and that he wanted to talk. His approach... was something that I don't think was appropriate at all,” said Noem.
Noem added that she and the senator had a good conversation later.
Padilla has been critical of the Trump administration’s decision to mobilize the California National Guard to protect federal buildings during immigration protests.
