A US senator from California was forcibly removed from a news conference being held by Donald Trump’s homeland security chief on Thursday, in the latest escalation of tensions over controversial immigration arrests.
Senator Alex Padilla was pushed and shoved from the room at a federal building in Los Angeles as he tried to ask Kristi Noem about operations that have rocked America’s second largest city.
“I’m Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” he said as two men grappled with him in front of journalists, including from AFP.
Footage filmed by Padilla’s staff outside the room showed the senator being pushed to the ground by security agents wearing bulletproof vests with FBI logos, who then handcuffed him.