Democrats on Capitol Hill were furious Thursday after Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was forcibly removed and handcuffed after trying to question Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at a press conference in Los Angeles.

After Padilla identified himself by his name and title, he pushed toward the front of a conference room trying to ask a question. He was then grabbed by agents who pushed him backward, shoved him through a set of double doors, and forced him onto the ground and handcuffed him.

Video of the confrontation emerged as the Senate was concluding work for the day, shocking members. More than a dozen immediately went to the floor to defend Padilla and speak out against what they argued was unjust and unnecessary.

On the other side of the building, California Democrats alongside other members of the party descended the Capitol steps as a group to condemn what many called the “manhandling” of their colleague. Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and other House Democrats also marched to Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) office in a show of outrage.

“He had every right as a member of the United States Senate to talk and be at an event that was open to the public and the press. Instead, he was manhandled by law enforcement, forced to the ground and handcuffed. This is an outrage,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) said with dozens of Democrats gathered behind her.

“And I'll tell you what, you know, it had me thinking, is this what it felt like to be in Germany in 1933.”

Many of the 17 Senate Democrats who spoke likened Padilla’s removal to actions seen in dictatorial states and called for a bipartisan investigation.

“Make no mistake, the effort to manhandle our colleague, to push him out of the room for asking an inconvenient question, to handcuff him — it’s an attempt to shut him up. It’s an attempt to shut everyone up who has a dissenting view from this administration,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said, pointing to the decision to deploy the military to quell the Los Angeles protests.

“They want to intimidate you,” he added.

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Padilla’s........

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