Statement on the Government Shutdown
October 01, 2025
Statement on Sen. Alex Padilla is forcibly removed from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's news conference in LA
Press Releases
June 13, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: vochoa@eracoalition.org
Washington DC - We are deeply disturbed by the images and videos of Senator Alex Padilla—an elected official—being handcuffed and forcibly removed from Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s press conference in Los Angeles while attempting to ask a question. Silencing and physically restraining a U.S. Senator is not just alarming, it’s a threat to our democracy.
Senator Padilla has long been a champion for equality, dignity, and justice—including his steadfast support for the Equal Rights Amendment. What happened to him is unacceptable, and part of a larger, disturbing, pattern—where those who speak out are silenced, where communities are targeted and dehumanized, and where systems of power evade accountability.
The ERA is about more than legal language—it’s about affirming that no one should be treated as less than equal in the eyes of the law. We believe that includes protecting the right to speak up, to demand accountability, and to stand with those most at risk. The same forces blocking the full recognition of the ERA are enabling these abuses of power.
We stand with Senator Padilla and with all those working to build a country where justice is not reserved for the few, but guaranteed for all.
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The ERA Coalition is a movement of movements, comprising over 300 partner organizations nationwide, and representing 80 million individuals. We advocate for transformative change and spearhead both community and political movements aimed at securing Constitutional recognition. We increase public understanding of the need for codifying the equal treatment of people on the basis of sex in the Constitution, and the need to end sex inequality in all its forms. This is what unites us all.