OMAHA, Neb — In an exclusive interview with KMTV, Sec. Chuck Hagel weighed in on the Trump Administration activating the National Guard and deploying Marines to respond to protests in Los Angeles, against the wishes of the governor.
Hagel — who served as a Republican Senator from Nebraska — also shared his thoughts on the treatment of Sen. Alex Padilla during a press conference at the Los Angeles federal building.
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WATCH KATRINA'S STORY BELOW
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT
I’m neighborhood reporter Katrina Markel.
In light of President Trump’s highly unusual move — deploying the National Guard and Marines in Los Angeles — I wanted to hear from someone who’s been in the arena.
"This is a local issue."
Chuck Hagel is a former Republican Senator from Nebraska and secretary of defense.
Hagel — a decorated Vietnam veteran — says the military isn’t trained to handle protests and the last time the National Guard was activated against a governor’s wishes was to protect civil rights protesters 60 years ago.
"You leave the law enforcement to the state and to the locales," he said "We never use — and it’s in the constitution — our active-duty military for policing, essentially putting them in opposition to citizens."
I also asked about the treatment of Sen. Alex Padilla — forcibly removed from Sec. Kristi Noem’s press conference and handcuffed on Thursday.
Katrina Markel: "What is your reaction to a senator being treated that way in a federal building where, presumably, he has a right to be?"
Hagel: "There’s just no excuse. I mean, that is a total over-reaction. That’s an authoritarian government reaction ... You manhandle elected officials, high government officials the way you do, very bad sign for the future. Now, because the Republicans control the Congress, there won’t be any hearings, but there should be."
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