Jun 12, 2025 - Politics & Policy

Democrats' fears of Trump admin violence erupt after Padilla incident

Andrew Solender

Alex Padilla, wearing a blue windbreaker, is held with his arm behind his back in a white room with cameras. — Sen. Alex Padilla is ejected from a press conference held by Secretary of Homeland Security in Los Angeles, California on June 12. Photo: David Crane/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images

Democratic lawmakers' fears of violence and arrest at the hands of the Trump administration spiked Thursday after Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was aggressively detained by Department of Homeland Security Personnel.

Why it matters: The concerns among Democrats were already on the rise amid the prosecution of Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) — with members even buying liability insurance.

Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), the chair of the Progressive Caucus, said the level of concern is "higher than the 10 out of 10 scale can describe right now."

State of play: One senior House Democrat described the level of fear as "high" and said members are "being told to buy liability insurance" by leadership — which was first reported by NOTUS.

There was a profanity-laden "screaming match" between Reps. John Mannion (D-N.Y.) and Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) regarding the Padilla incident on the House floor, multiple sources told Axios.
"People [are] so on edge. This floor is raw," the senior House Democrat said. "People think they are going to come in and arrest people on the floor."
Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) described the mood on the floor during the Thursday vote as "very tense."

What happened: Video shows Padilla being roughly pushed out of a room where Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was holding a press conference, and being held on the ground and handcuffed.

DHS said in a post on X that Padilla "chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference" and was "told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers' repeated commands."
Padilla and Noem met for 15 minutes following the incident, they said.

Padilla's office said in a statement he was "exercising his duty to perform Congressional oversight of the federal government's operations in Los Angeles and across California."

What they're saying: "It's not something any of us thought we'd ever see in America," Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) told Axios, calling the incident "deeply disturbing."

"We're all concerned," said Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), adding that "most Americans" are too."
Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) said lawmakers are "deeply concerned" about the incident.

Between the lines: "People have all gotten liability insurance … people are at least mentally prepared," said Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.).

"I think they understand, we go and do something and they don't like it, they'll try to arrest you. We knew this day would come. We didn't know exactly when it would happen, but it came," he said.

Editor's note: This is a breaking news story and has been updated.

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Democrats' fears of Trump admin violence erupt after Padilla incident

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