NBC late-night host Seth Meyers reacted to Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) being handcuffed after he stormed into the Department of Homeland Security’s press conference last week, claiming “This is what it looks like to live in a police state.”
During Wednesday’s episode of Late Night, Meyers played a clip of Sen. Padilla claiming he was not told why he was being arrested last week, after he burst into U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press briefing, saying, “This is what it looks like to live in a police state.”
In the clip, a seemingly tearful Padilla claimed, “I was forced to the ground. First on my knees, and then flat on my chest. And I was handcuffed and marched down a hallway, repeatedly asking, ‘Why am I being detained?’ not once did they tell me why.”
“Telling people why they’re getting arrested is, like, the main part of arresting. Otherwise, it’s just aggressive flirting: ‘You’re under arrest.’ ‘What for?’ ‘I don’t know, have you been a bad boy?’” Meyers reacted.
“This is what it looks like to live in a police state, everyone’s wearing masks like it’s fucking Eyes Wide Shut,” the Late Night with Seth Meyers host quipped.
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In the clip, a seemingly tearful Padilla claimed, “I was forced to the ground. First on my knees, and then flat on my chest. And I was handcuffed and marched down a hallway, repeatedly asking, ‘Why am I being detained?’ not once did they tell me why.”
“Telling people why they’re getting arrested is, like, the main part of arresting. Otherwise, it’s just aggressive flirting: ‘You’re under arrest.’ ‘What for?’ ‘I don’t know, have you been a bad boy?’” Meyers reacted.
“This is what it looks like to live in a police state, everyone’s wearing masks like it’s fucking Eyes Wide Shut,” the Late Night with Seth Meyers host quipped.
Of course, if the United States was an actual “police state,” Padilla would not have been released without charges, nor would he be free to talk about it, Newsbusters pointed out.
As Breitbart News reported, Noem told Fox News that Padilla did not identify himself when he interrupted her press conference, shouting and lunging forward, so security removed him.
“This man burst into the room, started lunging towards the podium, interrupting me and elevating his voice and was stopped, did not identify himself and was removed from the room. So as soon as he identified himself, appropriate actions were taken,” Noem said.
“If he would have requested a meeting, I would have loved to have sat down and had a conversation with him,” the Homeland Security Secretary continued, adding, “Coming into a press conference like this is political theater.”
Noem went on to say, “The way that he acted was completely inappropriate. It wasn’t becoming of a U.S. Senator or a public official.”
Breitbart News editor-in-chief Alex Marlow concurred, saying Padilla “clearly wants to draw attention to himself, he’s being forcibly removed by law enforcement, which is law enforcement’s right.”
Meyers is not the only public figure to fearmonger in response to Padilla’s arrest.
Last week, CW’s Supergirl star Jon Cryer reacted to the incident by demanding Noem “resign,” before bizarrely adding, “America is an authoritarian state.”
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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