A Message from Governor Newsom

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I want to say a few words about the events
of the last few days. This past weekend, federal agents
conducted large scale workplace raids in and around Los Angeles.
Those raids continue as I speak. California is no stranger
to immigration enforcement, but instead of focusing on undocumented immigrants
with serious criminal records and people with final deportation orders,

(00:22):
the strategy both parties have long supported this administration is
pushing mass deportations indiscriminately, targeting hard working immigrant families, regardless
of their roots or risk. What's happening right now is
very different than anything we've seen before. On Saturday morning,
when federal agents jumped out of an unmarked van near

(00:45):
a home depot parking lot, they began grabbing people, a
deliberate targeting of a heavily Latino suburb. A similar theme
played out when a clothing company was raided downtown. In
other actions, a US citizen nine mon un pregnant was arrested,
a four year old girl taken, families, separated, friends quite

(01:06):
literally disappearing. In response, every day, Angelino's came out to
exercise their constitutional right to free speech and assembly to
protest their government's actions. In turn, the State of California
and the City and County of Los Angeles sent our
police officers to help keep the peace, and with some exceptions,

(01:29):
they were successful. Like many states, California is no stranger
to this sort of unrest. We manage it regularly and
with our own law enforcement. But this again was different.
What then ensued was a use of tear gas, flash
bang grenades, rubber bullets, federal agents detaining people in undermining

(01:51):
their due process rights. Donald Trump, without consulting California law
enforcement leaders, commandeered two thousand of our state's National Guard
members to deploy on our streets illegally and for no reason.
This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed
a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers, and even

(02:15):
our National Guard at risk. That's when the downward spiral began.
He doubled down on his dangerous National Guard deployment by
fanning the flames even harder, and the president he did
it on purpose. As the news spread throughout La, anxiety
for family and friends ramped up. Protests started again. By night,

(02:38):
several dozen law breakers became violent and destructive. They vandalized property,
they tried to assault police officers. Many of you have
seen the video clips of cars burning on cable news.
If you incite violence, I want to be clear about this,
if you incite violence or destroy our communities, you're going
to be held to account. That kind of criminal behavior

(02:58):
will not be tolerated full stop. Already, more than two
hundred and twenty people have been arrested, and we're reviewing
tapes to build additional cases, and people will be prosecuted
to the fullest extent of the law. Again, thanks to
our law enforcement officers and the majority of Angelinos who
protested peacefully, the situation was winding down and was concentrated

(03:21):
in just a few square blocks downtown. With that, that's
not what Donald Trump wanted. He again chose escalation, He
chose more force, He chose theatrics over public safety. He
federalized another two thousand Guard members. He deployed more than
seven hundred active US Marines. These are the men and

(03:44):
women trained for foreign combat, not domestic law enforcement. We
honor their service, we honor their bravery, but we do
not want our streets militarized by our own armed forces.
Not in La not in California, not anywhere We're seeing
unmarked cars, unmarked cars in school parking, lots kids afraid

(04:06):
of attending their own graduation. Trump is pulling a military
dragnet all across Los Angeles. Well beyond is stated intent
to just go after violent and serious criminals, his agents
are arresting dishwashers, gardeners, day laborers, and seamstresses. That's just weakness,

(04:27):
weakness masquerading as strength. Donald Trump's government isn't protecting our communities.
They're traumatizing our communities, and that seems to be the
entire point. California will keep fighting. We'll keep fighting on
behalf of our people, all of our people, including in
the courts. Just yesterday, we filed a legal challenge to

(04:48):
Donald Trump's reckless deployment of American troops to a major
American city. Today, we sought an emergency court order to
stop the use of the American military to engage in
law enforce activities across Los Angeles. If some of us
could be snatched off the streets without a warrant based
only on suspicion or skin color, then none of us

(05:10):
are safe. Authoritarian regimes begin by targeting people who are
least able to defend themselves, but they do not stop there.
Trump and his loyalists, they thrive on division because it
allows them to take more power and exert even more control.
And by the way, Trump, he's not opposed to lawlessness
in violence as long as it serves him. What more

(05:34):
evidence do we need than January sixth, ask everyone take
time reflect on this perilous moment. A president who wants
to be bound by no law or constitution perpetuating a
unified assault on American traditions. This is a president who,
in just over one hundred and forty days has fired

(05:57):
government watchdogs that could hold him accountable, accountable for corruption
and fraud. He's declared a war, a war on culture,
on history, on science, on knowledge itself. Databases quite literally
are vanishing. He's delegitimizing news organizations, and he's assaulting the
First Amendment and the threat of defunding them at threat.

(06:19):
He's dictating what universities themselves can teach. He's targeting law
firms and the judicial brands that are the foundations of
an orderly in civil society. He's calling for a sitting
governor to be arrested for no other reason than to
in his own words, for getting elected, and we all
know this Saturday, he's ordering our American heroes, the United

(06:43):
States military, and forcing them to put on a vulgar
display to celebrate his birthday, just as other failed dictators
have done in the past. Look, this isn't just about
protests here in Los Angeles. When Donald Trump sought blanket
authority to commandeer the National Guard, he made that order
apply to every state in this nation. This is about

(07:06):
all of us. This is about you. California may be first,
but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next.
Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes.
This moment we have feared has arrived. He's taking a
wrecking ball, a wrecking ball to our founding father's historic project,

(07:28):
three co equal branches of independent government. They are no
longer any checks and balances. Congress is nowhere to be found.
Speaker Johnson has completely abdicated that responsibility. The rule of
law has increasingly been given way to the rule of
don The founding fathers, they didn't lived and died to

(07:49):
see this kind of moment. It's time for all of
us to stand up. Justice brandeis he said it best.
In a democracy, the most important office with all due respect,
mister President is not the presidency, and it's certainly not governor.
The most important office is office of citizen. At this moment,
at this moment, we all need to stand up and

(08:10):
be held to account a higher level of accountability. If
you exercise your First Amendment rights, please please do it peacefully.
I know many of you are feeling deep anxiety, stress
and fear, but I want you to know that you
are the antidote to that fear and that anxiety. What
Donald Trump wants most is your fealty, your silence to

(08:34):
be complicit in this moment. Do not give in to him.