A California sheriff running for governor has slammed current Gov. Gavin Newsom for “fueling” the Los Angeles riots, telling the Democrat to “put his phone down” and “stay out of the way of law enforcement.”
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said the rioters clearly “are not protesting” Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] and should not be left free to “facilitate the downfall of our civilized society.”
“They are trying to violently influence something by political action. That is what this is. That is everything that the Constitution stands against,” Bianco, who is running for governor as a Republican, told Fox News.
“That is what law enforcement stands against, and that is what will facilitate the downfall of our civilized society. A civilized society has an adherence to the rule of law, and there is consequence for breaking that social compact,” he added.
He urged Newsom to “put his phone down … and be quiet because he is doing nothing but fueling this process.”
“He needs to stay out of the way of law enforcement. He knows nothing about this. He knows absolutely nothing about the enforcement of law. He despises the enforcement of law, and he has encouraged this,” Bianco said.
President Trump has also blamed Newsom of failing to handle the violence, which erupted in the country’s second-largest city over the weekend.
The president has deployed hundreds of Marines and National Guard troops to the city, and Newsom responded by suing the Trump administration.
White House “border czar” Tom Homan, meanwhile, told CBS News on Monday “there’s no intention to arrest” Newsom, after President Trump suggested putting the governor in hanfcuffs.
“Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing,” Trump said Monday said after three nights of unrest in LA.
