The Trump dictatorship now features goons wrestling with and forcibly removing a United States senator from an event at a federal office building because he was apparently asking questions they didn't like.

Things were already getting ugly, but on Thursday morning, at FBI headquarters in Los Angeles, Homeland Security Secretary — and onetime dog murderer — Kristi Noem was holding a news conference, and she apparently didn't want US Senator Alex Padilla asking unwanted questions. Video shows Padilla being physically grabbed and shoved by several men, presumably federal agents or federal security guards, and removed from the room as he continues trying to speak.

"I'm Senator Alex Padilla, and I have questions for the secretary," Padilla can be heard saying on the video, as he's being shoved and manhandled and ultimately tossed out. He can also be heard saying, "Get your hands off!"

Padilla has not yet commented on the situation. On X on Tuesday and Wednesday, he had criticized President Trump and the administration for their militarized response to protests in LA over ICE actions targeting immigrants.

"If this was just about targeting violent criminals, Trump wouldn't be trying to deport sick children and law-abiding working families," Padilla said in one tweet.

In another, he wrote, "If Donald Trump gets away with deploying the National Guard and Marines into LA without clear authority or justification, he won’t stop there. This isn’t just an attack on Los Angeles — it’s a test run for using the military against any American city he chooses."

Calling Padilla "one of the most decent people I know," Governor Gavin Newsom posted video of the incident, saying, "This is outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful.  Trump and his shock troops are out of control."

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also commented on the incident, saying it was "absolutely abhorrent and outrageous."

While Padilla was being removed, Noem could be heard speaking to whoever her chosen press attendees were, about how "ICE agents have been getting doxxed for doing their duty."

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus said on X that Padilla "attended an open press conference to engage in debate, to represent his state, to do his job." They caucus said they were "demand[ing] a full investigation and consequences for every official involved in this assault against a sitting US senator."

Posting about the incident, The Lincoln Project said, "This is not America," and noted that the senator was handcuffed and detained.

As CNN is reporting, Padilla was forced to the ground and handcuffed, but is no longer detained.

Noem, who obviously did not recognize the senator, has now commented on the incident, blaming Padilla for not reaching out beforehand and for "lunging" toward her during the press event.

"I wish that he would have reached out and identified himself and let us know who he was and that he wanted to talk,” Noem said, per CNN. "His approach was something that I don’t think was appropriate... people need to identify themselves before they start lunging at people during press conferences."

The incident certainly highlights how civil and democratic norms in government gave gone out the window, if a sitting US senator, in his own state, gets this kind of treatment at a cabinet secretary's event. Fox News, without making any real justification for Padilla's treatment, has the story on their front page currently with the headline "Leftist Meltdown" under the video of the incident. They also praise Noem for "not skipping a beat" during the disruption.