Jasmine Crockett ‘In Tears’ After Senator Padilla’s Arrest at DHS Press Event
U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) revealed she “broke down in tears” when Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) was detained for pushing into a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press conference last month.
The incident unfolded when DHS Secretary Kristi Noem was speaking about the violent anti-ICE riots that gripped Los Angeles last month.
Padilla stormed towards Noem’s podium, accusing her of “exaggerating” the violence directed towards federal agents.
Security personnel approached the senator and proceeded to physically remove him from the room.
“I am Senator Alex Padilla… I have questions for the secretary,” Padilla shouted as he was being escorted out.
The senator continued screaming until he was pushed out of the room, at which point he yelled, “Hands off!”
Federal agents could then be seen escorting Padilla down a hallway before he was taken to the ground and handcuffed.
The senator was ultimately not charged.
“Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said at the time.
“Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands. [Secret Service] thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately.”
While some media outlets like CNN concluded that Padilla was rightfully detained as a result of the incident, some used the incident as a line of attack against the Trump Administration.
While speaking with podcaster Hasan Minhaj on Wednesday, Crockett stated that the incident had her “in tears.”
“I was like, ‘what happened to Alex?’” Crockett recalled.
“And then the staffer points to the TV. And that’s when I see, like I had no warning whatsoever. And so I see, they’re playing a loop of what happened to Senator Padilla. And I literally just broke down in tears and started crying.”
Watch:
Senator Padilla himself appeared on the verge of tears after the incident.
“I was forced to the ground,” Padilla said, his voice wavering.
“First on my knees, and then flat on my chest. And as I was handcuffed and marched down a hallway, repeatedly asking why I was being detained, not once did they tell me why.”
The senator then added, “I pray you never have a moment like this. But I tell you, in that moment, a lot of questions came to my mind.”
“Where are they taking me? I know I’m not just being escorted out of the building. Am I being arrested here? And what will a city already on edge from being militarized think when they see their United States senator handcuffed just for trying to answer a question,” he concluded.
Despite the leftist rhetoric surrounding the incident, CNN legal analyst Alex Campbell concluded that DHS and Secret Service agents were justified in their actions.
“It’s easy to think about this as one incident, but from a law enforcement perspective, we’re really looking at three separate incidents that happened within a short period of time,” he explained.
“First, you have the DHS secretary who is addressing the press. This was not a Q&A period, and she was interrupted… by someone who was speaking very loudly, and so her security detail confronts what we now know to be the senator.”
“At that point, he is going to be escorted out. You can’t interrupt something like that, something that’s already in progress.”
READ: House Democrat Breaks Ranks, Backs Trump’s National Guard Deployment in LA Riots