WASHINGTON, DC – Today, after U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) was physically assaulted, handcuffed, and forcibly removed from a press conference in Los Angeles, California, for trying to ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) issued the following statement:

“The assault on Senator Padilla was an assault on our Constitutional principles.

“Federal troops have been deployed in the state Senator Padilla represents against the wishes of the people he represents and in violation of the law.  Senator Padilla was in a federal building simply performing his duties as an elected official.  He identified himself and was trying to ask the Secretary of Homeland Security a simple question.  The Secretary could have ignored him, asked him not to interrupt, or simply responded. 

“Instead, her staff aggressively assaulted a U.S. Senator while she looked on.  Senator Padilla was manhandled and silenced.  If they are treating Senator Padilla this way with cameras rolling, imagine how they are treating those who aren’t members of Congress.

“This is America.  Dissent should not be met with violence.

“This abhorrent incident shows the Trump Administration has dropped any pretense of following the Constitution.  The Administration is using the autocrat’s playbook of physical restraint to suppress its critics.

“I am under no illusion that the President or his Administration will change their behavior unless forced to do so by Republicans joining Democrats or by the courts. 

“All senators should recognize that this goes beyond the mistreatment of Senator Padilla and work to stop the Trump Administration from continuing to drag America toward authoritarianism.”