In a dramatic and chaotic clip from a high-octane House Oversight and Government Reform hearing, Reps. James Comer (R-KY) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) clashed with Maxwell Frost (D-FL). The group had a heated exchange over sanctuary cities and the brief arrest of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), who had lunged at DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in a previous interaction.
During the tense conversation, Comer noted that Frost was “out of order” and told him to “shut up” three times, accusing him of seeking media attention. Following up, Greene labeled Frost a “former Antifa member” and criticized Democrats for not following rules.
In any case, the disgraceful Democrat began by repeating tired DNC talking points. “DHS federal officers threw a U.S. Senator to the ground. Will you commit on the record to working to subpoena Kristi Noem because a U.S. Senator was just detained and thrown to the ground in his own state?” he dishonestly asked.
Clearly annoyed, the Kentucky Republican noted, “Mr. Frost, you’re out of order.” When Frost refused to act with decorum, he repeatedly told him to “Just shut up.” Chiming in, MTG added, “Democrats can’t follow the rules, can’t follow the law.”
Frusterated, Comer noted, “He’s been out of order six times. He’s trying to get on MSNBC,” joking, “You probably knocked somebody off [at] MSNBC to get on there.” As order was restored, MTG quipped that he was a “Former Antifa member.”
As we reported, Padilla, the Democratic Senator at the center of this scandal, has issued breathless statements about what initially happened. “I was forced to the ground. First on my knees, and then flat on my chest. And as I was handcuffed and marched down a hallway, repeatedly asking why I was being detained, not once did they tell me why,” he claimed.
Still not done with his self-congratulatory account, the senator alleged, “Where are they taking me? I know I’m not just being escorted out of the building. Am I being arrested here? And what will a city already on edge from being militarized think when they see their United States senator handcuffed just for trying to answer a question?”
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Setting the record straight, DHS Spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin issued her own statement. “Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem,” she said.
Building on this point, she noted how his account left out vital information, saying, “Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands. [Secret Service] thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately.”
Adding more context. CNN Legal Analyst Alex Campbell dug into the details, explaining, “It’s easy to think about this as one incident, but from a law enforcement perspective, we’re really looking at three separate incidents that happened within a short period of time.”
Watch the clip here:
Concluding his comments, Campbell noted the complexities of the case. “First, you have the DHS secretary who is addressing the press. This was not a Q&A period, and she was interrupted… by someone who was speaking very loudly, and so her security detail confronts what we now know to be the senator. At that point, he will be escorted out. You can’t interrupt something like that, something that’s already in progress,” he said.
Featured image from embedded video