Video reportedly shows a transient individual walking into a Target in Los Angeles, grabbing a few bottles of booze, and walking out without so much as even being asked to put a mask on in the name of public safety. The video was posted by a Twitter account titled, “Street People of Los Angeles.”
“Transient in Santa hat helping himself to free bottles of liquor courtesy of George Gascón at the Target on Hollywood Blvd in Hollywood,” the account tweeted. “What about the mask mandate and no smoking indoors? That must just be meant for the rest of us that follow the rules.”
The man in the Santa hat gathers what appears to be bottles of Bacardi rum.
Transient in Santa hat helping himself to free bottles of liquor courtesy of George Gascón at the Target on Hollywood Blvd in Hollywood. What about the mask mandate and no smoking indoors? That must just be meant for the rest of us that follow the rules. pic.twitter.com/7WFOXRif4D
— STREET PEOPLE OF LOS ANGELES (@streetpeopleLA) December 14, 2021
George Gascón is the George Soros-backed District Attorney in Los Angeles who promised a soft-on-crime approach like so many other progressive prosecutors around the country. As The Daily Wire reported, Gascón has been an abundant failure and the people of LA have gone so far as to issue a vote of “no confidence” in him:
As organizers of a drive to recall Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón claim their momentum has him “running scared,” leaders from 24 cities have now issued votes of “no confidence” in his policies.
The Southern California News Group (SCNG) reported that the La Verne City Council voted 3-2 on Monday “to condemn directives from the District Attorney’s Office, calling the policies a risk to public safety.”
Gascón was elected in November 2020 and issued a set of special orders in December that sparked a backlash from law enforcement groups, deputy DAs in his own office, and families impacted by violent crime. The directives included stopping the practice of trying juveniles as adults, ending cash bail for low-level nonviolent offenses, taking the death penalty off the table, and a ban on prosecutors seeking all sentencing enhancements – a change that he later scaled back after public outcry.
La Verne Mayor Tim Hepburn reportedly said, “This is making it that the criminals have more rights than the victims, it is just not right.”
But Los Angeles is not alone in its failure to prevent crime.
Across the country, numerous groups and individuals in Democrat-run cities have felt emboldened to walk into a store, take whatever they want, and leave without fear of jail time. As CNN noted, the crime has become so bad that the CEOs of Target, Best Buy, CVS, and Home Depot sent a letter to Congress to ask for help in stopping the crimes:
The CEOs of Target, Best Buy, Nordstrom,Home Depot and CVS are among a group of 20 retail leaders who sent a letter Thursday to Congress expressing their concern over a recent wave of in major US cities and urged lawmakers to take action.
The group called on Congress to pass legislation that would deter criminals from being able to easily resell stolen merchandise, specifically online.
“As millions of Americans have undoubtedly seen on the news in recent weeks and months, retail establishments of all kinds have seen a significant uptick in organized crime in communities across the nation,” said the letter, sent by the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA).
Of course, these crimes will continue so long as “rogue prosecutors” like Gascón are in power.
For an in-depth look at what exactly a “rogue prosecutor” is, The Heritage Foundation compiled a manual for understanding this new brazen tactic of the Left in America. The following are the “key takeaways” from their report titled, “George Gascón: A Rogue Prosecutor Whose Extreme Policies Undermine the Rule of Law and Make Los Angeles Less Safe,” but the full report is well worth the read:
Financial backing by George Soros and Soros-affiliated organizations has led to a rise in rogue prosecutors, including George Gascon.
Gascón’s radical, pro-criminal, anti-prosecution policies make him a “gold standard” for rogue prosecutors.
Gascón’s dangerous policies will impact public safety for decades to come.
Shop-lifting is not the only crime increasing in Los Angeles. Homicides are increasing as well. In 2020, homicides in Los Angeles rose 40% to 332. It is unclear whether the “Bad Santa” in the video was ever approached by police, but based on the precedent it is unlikely that he will face any consequences.