On Thursday, California Sen. Alex Padilla had had enough of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s mendacity during a news conference at the federal building in Los Angeles, so he stood up and tried to ask her a question. Immediately, FBI agents and other members of Noem’s security team swarmed Padilla, dragged him from the room, pushed him to the floor and handcuffed him, even though he identified himself as a United States senator.
The assault on Padilla aligns perfectly with the Trump administration’s eagerness to use harsh police powers, whether legally or not, in any situation where it meets resistance. Noem inadvertently attested to this when, in her comments before the Padilla incident, she said the National Guard and Marines were being sent into Los Angeles to “liberate” the city from “socialists.”
For once, Noem was telling the truth. The military has been brought in not to curb an insurrection or to save LA from decimation by swarms of revolutionaries — the handful of protesters who committed acts of violence were easily handled by LA cops — but to undermine Democrats, such as LA Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom, and intimidate other Democratic leaders in liberal cities from New York to Seattle who oppose the administration’s ruthless roundup of anyone who might be an undocumented migrant.
Later in the day, a federal district judge ruled that President Donald Trump’s appropriation of the California National Guard to assist immigration cops in their raids on workplaces, schools, churches and homes is illegal and that command of the guard must be returned to Newsom. That decision will be appealed, but, given the true motivation behind the federal invasion of LA, higher courts may also side with California.
If Noem and her ilk feel free to brand all Democrats as socialists, those who are outraged by the jackbooted tactics of the Homeland Security secretary and her boss should feel justified in using the political F word, just as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren did on Thursday. The Trump regime, the senator said, is making the United States “look more and more like a fascist state.”
See more of David Horsey’s cartoons at: st.news/davidhorsey
View other syndicated cartoonists at: st.news/cartoons
Editor’s note: Seattle Times Opinion no longer appends comment threads on David Horsey’s cartoons. Too many comments violated our community policies and reviewing the dozens that were flagged as inappropriate required too much of our limited staff time. You can comment via a Letter to the Editor. Please email us at letters@seattletimes.com and include your full name, address and telephone number for verification only. Letters are limited to 200 words.
