‘Sick And Pathetic’: Dozens Of Federal Agents Show Up To Newsom Event

Newsom called the appearance of U.S. Border Patrol agents “sick and pathetic,” accusing President Donald Trump’s administration of trying to intimidate him.

“Right outside, at this exact moment, dozens and dozens of ICE agents,” Newsom told attendees at his press conference. “You think it’s coincidental?

“It’s everything you know about the authoritarian tendencies of the president of the United States,” he added. “Wake up, America. You will not have a country if he rigs this election.”

The office of the California governor posted a video of the masked agents in the Little Tokyo neighborhood of Los Angeles to its social media account.

“WE WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED!” the post read.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also called the appearance of the federal agents “unacceptable,” accusing the Trump administration of seeking to gin up trouble at the event.

“There is no way this was a coincidence,” Bass told reporters afterward. “This was widely publicized that the governor was having a press conference here to talk about redistricting. This is unbelievably disrespectful. It’s a provocative act. They are talking about disorder in Los Angeles; they are the source of that disorder. There was no danger here. There was no need to detain anyone here.”

The federal officials detained one person outside the event. The move comes amid an immigration crackdown by the Trump administration in Los Angeles and other Democratic-run cities around the country.

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), who was forcibly removed earlier this year from a news conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles, criticized Thursday’s appearance of federal agents.

“Trump, it’s all about spectacle,” Padilla said. “Guess what? California is not going to be intimidated.”