STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Exactly what happened at a Homeland Security press conference yesterday?
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was talking to reporters when U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, a Democrat from California, entered the room, saying he wanted to speak with her. In this audio, we can hear as security personnel blocked him.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ALEX PADILLA: I'm Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary, because the fact of the matter is a half a dozen violent criminals that you're rotating on your - on your - hands off.
MARTIN: Federal agents had the senator handcuffed on the ground after forcibly removing him from the room.
INSKEEP: NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales is covering this. Good morning.
CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: Let's learn the players here - Kristi Noem, secretary of Homeland Security, former governor of South Dakota. Senator Padilla is the other name. What should people know about him?
GRISALES: Right. He was appointed to replace then-Vice President Kamala Harris in 2021. He won an election to the seat the following year. And he's the son of Mexican immigrants, and also the first Latino senator to represent the state of California. So these protests have been very personal for him. And he says he wasn't able to get a meeting with Noem. So that's why he went to her press conference, taking place in this federal building, and that's when this incident ensued.
INSKEEP: Now, we should bear in mind - there are different perspectives on all of this.
GRISALES: Right.
INSKEEP: Republicans are saying, why did you show up, disrupting this press conference, and so forth. But in any event, he ends up on the ground, face down, if I remember correctly. What are Democrats saying about this?
GRISALES: They're calling it an assault. Some said this is a defining moment for the country, and it's part of a series of actions by the administration signaling a new era of authoritarian rule. And as we know already, President Trump's decision to send the National Guard and U.S. Marines into LA has set off a firestorm. And this is on top of months of bitter disagreements over the administration's aggressive immigration policies, so this just adds to an already volatile situation. Take a listen to Padilla after the incident.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PADILLA: If this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question, you can only imagine what they're doing to farmers, to cooks, to day laborers.
GRISALES: And you can hear him getting emotional there again. So for hours yesterday, Democrats took to the Senate floor to denounce what happened. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was sickened by the footage and called for a full investigation.
INSKEEP: Now, I did notice that Secretary Noem said, after the incident, she did meet with Padilla for a little while. What else is Homeland Security saying?
GRISALES: Right. And initially, the department accused Padilla of, quote, "disrespectful political theater." They said he didn't comply with requests to back away. And she said that it was not clear who he was, that no one knew he - who he was. I mean, they were at least 10, 15 feet apart when he was announcing his name, so it's possible that she could not hear him. But clearly, they met, and not much was resolved.
INSKEEP: And of course, he did announce his name. Are other Republicans talking here?
GRISALES: I was with a group of reporters last night who spoke to Senate Majority Leader John Thune just outside the Senate chamber. And he said he was waiting to hear from all the relevant parties before saying any more about the incident, other than saying it would be treated as if any other incident involved any other senator. But his counterpart at the other side of the Capitol wasn't waiting. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Padilla acted "wildly inappropriate" and he should be censured. So a reminder of a very politically charged moment over the president's immigration tactics and the fallout that continues.
INSKEEP: NPR's Claudia Grisales, thanks so much.
GRISALES: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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