Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., has continued to defend himself and refute the claims by the Trump administration that he crashed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's news conference before federal officers shoved him outside the room, pushed him onto the floor and handcuffed him.

The incident occurred amid heightened political tensions nationwide, including protests against federal immigration authorities over aggressive sweeps of migrants and immigrants, and deportations.

Senate Majority Leader Thune has spoken to Padilla and is gathering information on his removal from a DHS press conference in Los Angeles.

The sweeps have fueled six days of protests resulting in hundreds of arrests in Los Angeles while demonstrations have spread across the nation.

Alex Padilla (D., Calif ... Noem and others were addressing immigration raids and the federal response to protests that have spread across the city, saying they would forge ahead with their ...

At that point, Padilla — who had barged ... While urging more “peaceful protests” across the country against the administration’s immigration enforcement actions, he wrapped up his remarks ...