Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) said Friday on CNN’s “News Central” that Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) being removed from a press conference “was one of the most outrageous things I‘ve ever seen in 67 years on the planet.”
Host John Berman said, “Your colleague, Senator Padilla from California, was detained and handcuffed at an event yesterday with Secretary Kristi Noem. Your reaction to that? What kind of message do you think that sends?”
Kaine said, “It was one of the most outrageous things I‘ve ever seen in 67 years on the planet. John, he is an L.A. city council member. He attended a meeting at the federal office building. He walked into a public press conference, and when the secretary said something about she was there to liberate Los Angeles from its government, he tried to ask a question. And he was — he was manhandled, forced out of the room, tackled and handcuffed. The First Amendment guarantees the right to all Americans, we can peacefully assemble and petition government for redress of grievances. That action yesterday, and the Trump actions more generally in deploying the military into a situation where there‘s no need for them, is an intent to suppress legitimate dissent against Trump policies. On the eve of Flag Day, tomorrow‘s Flag Day, many of us are going to be involved in events for Flag Day, we’ve got to commit ourselves to the notion that Americans can gather and express dissenting views to policies of this, or any administration that they don‘t care for, so long as those gatherings are peaceful, as was Alex Padilla‘s presence. We‘re not only allowed to do them, we‘re guaranteed the right to do them. Even if this administration wants to suppress dissent, we can‘t let that happen.”
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