US Senator Alex Padilla of California was forcibly removed and handcuffed by federal agents on Thursday after interrupting a news conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles.

Video footage of the altercation shows Padilla, a Democrat, identifying himself as a senator before being physically subdued.

Federal officials claimed Padilla lunged toward Noem and refused repeated commands to step back.

Supporters said the senator was trying to speak out against the deployment of troops for immigration raids across the state of California.

Padilla said later on MSNBC that his removal was "excessive" and "an overreaction". He explained that he had been escorted into the briefing room by federal agents while waiting for a scheduled meeting with US Northern Command.

"I stood in the back, listening, until the political rhetoric got to be too much to take," he said. "So I spoke up."

Also on Thursday, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals allowed President Donald Trump to maintain his deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles, temporarily pausing a lower-court ruling that blocked the mobilization.

The decision does not mean that the court will ultimately agree with Trump, but it does leave the president in command of the Guard for the time being.

Earlier on Thursday, San Francisco-based US District Judge Charles Breyer found that Trump's deployment of the Guard was unlawful. Breyer's 36-page ruling had ordered the National Guard to return to the control of California Governor Gavin Newsom, who had brought the case.

Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, Democratic lawmakers condemned the treatment of Padilla, calling it an abuse of federal power.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor: "I just saw something that sickened my stomach, the manhandling of a United States senator. We need immediate answers to what the hell went on."

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, sided with law enforcement and suggested the Senate should discipline Padilla.

Secretary Noem later said she had spoken with Padilla and called his behavior "inappropriate", though she did not elaborate.

Newsom condemned the incident on social media, calling it "outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful".

"If they can handcuff a US senator for asking a question, imagine what they will do to you," he said.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called Padilla's removal "absolutely abhorrent and outrageous".

Last week, border czar Tom Homan threatened to arrest and prosecute Newsom and Bass if they interfered with Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations — a warning that the president later endorsed. Homan later said there was "no intention" to arrest the governor.

Authorities have arrested more than 1,000 people nationwide in connection with protests that erupted in response to workplace immigration raids in Los Angeles last week.

What began as local demonstrations in LA has since spread to cities across the country. While many protests have remained peaceful, others have escalated into confrontations marked by vandalism, property damage and clashes that left both demonstrators and law enforcement officers injured.

As legal and political battles play out, protests are expected to further intensify on Saturday, when major demonstrations have been planned to coincide with Trump's 79th birthday and a military parade in Washington.

Agencies contributed to this story.

renali@chinadailyusa.com