‘So pathetic’: Watch Padilla choke up on Senate floor describing his recent detention

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., Tuesday tearfully described for his colleagues on the Senate floor his experience with law enforcement after he barged into a press conference in Los Angeles last week, demanding DHS Secretary Kristi Noem answer his questions.

In what many have called a political stunt, Padilla showed up at the event unannounced, wearing street clothes and without his identifying U.S. Senate lapel pin. Secret Service agents tasked with protecting Noem reportedly did not recognize him as a federal elected official.

Padilla on Tuesday appeared to choke up as he described his seemingly traumatic experience.

WATCH:

Democrat Senator Alex Padilla is doing a fake crying routine on the floor: “I was handcuffed and marched down a hallway!”

So pathetic? pic.twitter.com/erBrjjZmAl

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) June 17, 2025

Responses to the footage on X include:

“Democrat Senator Alex Padilla is doing a fake crying routine on the floor: ‘I was handcuffed and marched down a hallway!’ So pathetic.”

“His performance reminds me of the Justin Timberlake song Cry Me A River.”

And:

“Send in the Noem!!!”