WATCH: Sen. Padilla forcibly ejected from DHS secretary’s press conference

The immigration-fueled clashes in Los Angeles spilled over into politics Thursday when Sen. Alex Padilla tried to crash Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference and was ejected when he interrupted her remarks, demanding to ask a question.

Fellow Democrats called his forced removal an “assault” on a sitting senator and labeled him a victim of an increasingly authoritarian regime.

The White House mocked those heated reactions. Officials said Mr. Padilla “embarrassed himself and his constituents with this immature, theater-kid stunt.”

Hours later, a federal judge heard California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s challenge to President Trump’s deployment of thousands of troops to the streets of Los Angeles to guard federal facilities and help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers scour the city for deportation targets.

Judge Charles Breyer did not issue an immediate ruling, though he cast the case in terms of stopping presidential overreach.

“This country was founded in response to a monarch, and the Constitution is a document of limitations. I’m trying to figure out where the lines are drawn,” the judge said, according to The Associated Press.

He said the law requires the president to act “through” the governor, but Mr. Trump didn’t notify Mr. Newsom, much less give him a chance to offer input.

Mr. Trump started deploying troops Saturday, calling up National Guard soldiers. He has since sent in 700 Marines. The judge indicated that only the National Guard was at stake in the hearing.

The call-up seems to have triggered even bigger protests in Los Angeles and copycat events in other cities, where anger at Mr. Trump’s early moves in his second administration is boiling over on the political left.

Hundreds of protesters have been arrested in Los Angeles, but immigration officers are encountering more resistance and violence.

Omar Pulido Bastida, 41, was charged with a felony after spitting on an ICE officer, authorities said. They said the ICE officer was attempting to serve a criminal arrest warrant for illegally reentering the U.S. after deportation.

Bill Essayli, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, pointed to Mr. Trump’s recent declaration of zero tolerance for those who assault federal officers.

“This defendant found out the hard way: When you spit, we hit — with a felony charge,” Mr. Essayli said.

The incident with Mr. Padilla was emblematic of the broader fight over Mr. Trump’s policies.

Mr. Padilla said he showed up to ask questions of Ms. Noem because he felt he had been stonewalled through regular channels.

When he interrupted Ms. Noem’s press conference, he was pushed back and left the room.

“Hands off!” he shouted as two men used their bodies to push him.

“I’m Sen. Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” the California Democrat said as he was pushed out the doorway.

In a hallway, federal agents ordered Mr. Padilla to the ground and handcuffed him, but they did not detain or arrest him.

“If this is how this administration responds to a senator with questions … you can only imagine what they’re doing to farmworkers, to cooks,” Mr. Padilla said later at his own press conference.

Ironically, he declined to answer questions from the press.

Ms. Noem addressed the incident by saying she would talk with Mr. Padilla about his concerns.

“If you wanted to have a civil discussion, especially as a leader, a public official, that you would reach out and try to have a conversation,” she said. She added that Mr. Newsom hadn’t returned voicemails she left him.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said Mr. Padilla “didn’t want answers; he wanted attention.”

“Padilla embarrassed himself and his constituents with this immature, theater-kid stunt, but it’s telling that Democrats are more riled up about Padilla than they are about the violent riots and assaults on law enforcement in L.A.,” she said.

The incident quickly reverberated on Capitol Hill.

House Democrats attempted to force their chamber to adjourn, and Senate Democrats rushed to their chamber to demand answers about what happened and why.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said the video “sickened my stomach.”

“Sen. Padilla was exercising his duty as a senator for his constituents to try and find out what happened, and instead he gets manhandled, thrown out of the room, thrown on the ground and handcuffed,” Mr. Schumer said. “We need a full investigation immediately as to what happened, and who did what, and what’s going to be done to see that this doesn’t happen again to Sen. Padilla or other American citizens who are seeking their right to redress.”