Statement on the Repression of U.S. Senator Alex Padilla

Yesterday, we watched in shock as federal agents physically tackled, hand‑cuffed, and removed California’s own U.S. Senator Alex Padilla from a Homeland Security press briefing in Los  Angeles—all because he dared to ask Secretary Kristi Noem a question about the federal military deployment in our state.

When federal agents are so bold to silence our elected representative on live camera, they silence the constituents who sent him to Washington. Autocrats, from Mussolini’s Blackshirts to the early Nazi paramilitaries, have always begun their ascent by brutalizing opposition voices and normalizing violence in public discourse.  What we saw is cut from that same fascist cloth.

Governor Gavin Newsom warned just days ago that “Democracy is under assault right before our eyes—this moment we’ve feared has arrived.” Yesterday’s thuggish treatment of Senator Padilla is proof.  It is an escalation in a pattern of authoritarian behavior that includes deploying Marines on city streets, commandeering California’s National Guard, and arresting and criminally charging labor and civil‑rights leaders for peacefully protesting the blatantly unlawful actions of the federal government.  These are the hallmarks of a government that fears accountability and wields power to brutally suppress it.

This assault on Senator Padilla and the broader campaign of intimidation against dissenting voices is outrageous and undemocratic. Congress must open an investigation into the Department of Homeland Security and any personnel involved in Padilla’s assault. Every elected official—regardless of party—must denounce these acts for what they are: fascist tactics incompatible with American democracy. 

Nancy Tung
Chair, San Francisco Democratic Party