'No Kings' protests: Tensions rise in LA as crowd hurls concrete, police allege

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and numerous community leaders came together on Thursday afternoon to condemn the remarks of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who described the city as a war zone.

During Noem's earlier press conference, California Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly removed while attempting to ask her a question -- sparking backlash from both sides of the political spectrum.

Bass and the community leaders -- made up of religious leaders, business owners, community organizers, and more -- wanted to show that Los Angeles stands together amid ongoing ICE raids across the city.

Watch L.A. Mayor Karen Bass' statement from her press conference on Thursday afternoon.

"You want to know Los Angeles? This is Los Angeles," Bass said, in a room full of supporters from across the city. "We are a city of labor, we are a city of businesses, we are a city of faith, we are a city of believers, and we are a city of dreamers."

"Last Thursday, ICE entered our city and provoked the city by chasing people through Home Depots and car washes and showing up at schools, and today, showing up at emergency rooms and homeless shelters," Bass said.

Bass slammed the DHS, which claimed that Padilla "interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem."

"How could you say that you did not know who he was? We see the videotape. We see him saying who he was. But how could you not recognize one of two senators in our state?" Bass said.

"It is my understanding that she arrived here late last night, was here for a few hours today, and came to that conclusion," Bass said about Noem calling the city a war zone. "There's no one up here that sees Los Angeles like that."

She emphasized that vandalism from protests is isolated to a few blocks in a city that is over 500 square miles.

In a statement on X on Thursday, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino defended how Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was physically removed from the room by federal officers when he tried to interrupt Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's news conference in Los Angeles.

Bongino alleged that Padilla was not wearing a security pin and "physically resisted law enforcement" during the incident.

"Our FBI personnel acted completely appropriately while assisting Secret Service and we are grateful for their professionalism and service," Bongino said.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is calling for undocumented immigrants to self-deport.

"If you wait until we have to arrest you, you will never get to be an American, much less live here and work here and be able to pursue the American dream," she threatened.

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was physically removed from the room by federal officers when he tried to interrupt Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's news conference in Los Angeles.

Before being pushed out of the room, he said, "The fact of the matter is half a dozen violent criminals that you're rotating on your, on your -- hands off."

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem spoke at a press conference on Thursday morning, but her remarks were interrupted when it appeared California Senator Alex Padilla was kicked out.

Padilla told reporters that he's been pushing for more information on the administration's immigration enforcement actions and he went to the news conference "to hear what she had to say and see if I could learn any new additional information."

After Padilla tried to ask a question, he said he was forced out of the room, forced to the ground and handcuffed.

Padilla stressed that he was not detained and not arrested.

"If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question ... you can only imagine what they're doing to farmworkers, to cooks, to day laborers," the senator told reporters, overcome with emotion. "We will hold this administration accountable."

Sen. Alex Padilla held a press conference after he was forcibly removed from a DHS press conference with Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles.

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at DHS, claimed the senator "interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem."

"Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers' repeated commands," she said. "@SecretService thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately." McLaughlin described Padilla's actions as "disrespectful political theatre."

Noem said, "I think everybody in America would agree that that wasn't appropriate -- that if you wanted to have a civil discussion, especially as a leader, a public official, that you would reach out and try to have a conversation."

Noem and Padilla met for 15 minutes following the incident, she said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass have expressed their outrage

"Senator Alex Padilla is one of the most decent people I know," Newsom said. "This is outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful. Trump and his shock troops are out of control."

"What just happened to @SenAlexPadilla is absolutely abhorrent and outrageous," Bass said. "This administration's violent attacks on our city must end."

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is demanding an investigation.