California’s current crime conundrum can be told as a story with (at least) three parts. Voters passed 2014’s <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_47,_Reduced_Penalties_for_Some_Crimes_Initiative_(2014)">Proposition 47</a>, 2016’s <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_57,_Parole_for_Non-Violent_Criminals_and_Juvenile_Court_Trial_Requirements_(2016)">Proposition 57</a>, and finally 2024’s <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_36,_Drug_and_Theft_Crime_Penalties_and_Treatment-Mandated_Felonies_Initiative_(2024)">Proposition 36</a>.
In the first two, voters went along with progressive policies — sold using feel-good language — that created more homelessness, crime, and human misery. In the third, though, voters overwhelmingly rejected the failures caused by these earlier policies.
But now, California Governor Gavin Newsom and his state-level legislative allies are trying to undermine voters calling for more criminal accountability — including time in prison for those who break the law — by <a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/newsletter/2025-06-02/newsom-insults-california-voters-by-not-funding-proposition-36">refusing</a> to adequately fund Prop. 36’s proposals.
For those unfamiliar, Prop. 47 downgraded most types of theft under $950 from felonies to misdemeanors and made it impossible to charge most simple possession cases as felonies rather than misdemeanors.
Combined with the fact that California’s <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Rogue-Prosecutors/Zack-Smith/9781637586532">rogue prosecutors</a> in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Oakland — just to name a few — refused to prosecute most misdemeanor offenses, lawlessness flourished.
Amid this front-end problem, California voters approved Prop. 57 in 2016. Voters were told this proposal was designed to allow “nonviolent” offenders who had been rehabilitated to be released from prison early.
Sounds good. Right?
Here’s the problem: The California legislature had previously <a href="https://archive.ph/0n9SO">redefined</a> “nonviolent” offenses to include <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=667.5.&amp;lawCode=PEN">crimes like</a> assault with a deadly weapon, soliciting murder, intimidating a witness, resisting arrest that causes harm to a police officer, elder or child abuse, arson with injury, human trafficking, certain types of manslaughter, rape of an unconscious person (though this has since changed), sex trafficking, and trafficking of children.
Most people would agree that those are not “nonviolent” crimes. And yet, because the California legislature had declared it so, those who committed these heinous offenses began to be released under Prop. 57’s regime.
Sensing that something wasn’t quite right, and that these soft-on-crime policies were hurting their communities rather than helping them, Californians took action.
Not only did they vote out of office the rogue district attorneys in <a href="https://www.heritage.org/crime-and-justice/commentary/recall-chesa-boudin-san-francisco-shows-rogue-prosecutor-movement">San Francisco</a>, <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2024/11/06/rogue-prosecutor-george-gascon-loses-reelection-as-la-county-district-attorney/">Los Angeles</a>, and <a href="https://www.law360.com/articles/1811708">Oakland</a>, but they also passed — with almost 70% of the vote — Prop. 36, which rolled back many of Prop. 47’s soft-on-crime policies.
Under Prop. 36, repeat shoplifters can now be charged with a felony punishable by up to three years in state prison. Those convicted of certain drug-dealing offenses must serve their sentences in state prison rather than county jail. (This matters because in 2011, the California legislature passed <a href="https://www.crimeandconsequences.com/crimblog/2019/06/violence-surging-in-ca-jails.html">AB 109</a>, which allows those who commit many types of crimes to serve their sentences in a county jail instead of a state prison. With jail overcrowding posing a real issue, many served far less time than they were supposed to.)
Those accused of certain drug possession offenses or who have multiple past convictions for drug crimes can be charged with a “treatment-mandated felony” — meaning that if a person completes a drug rehab program, his or her charges will be dismissed. If not, that person can face up to three years in state prison. Finally, Prop. 36 requires courts to warn those who come before them that if they provide illegal drugs to someone, they could be charged with murder if that person overdoses and dies as a result.
Governor Gavin Newsom opposed Prop. 36 and vigorously campaigned against it. Now that California voters have rejected his soft-on-crime policies, he’s pitching a temper tantrum and is actively opposing funding many of Prop. 36’s proposals.
In May 2025, Newsom <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article306495616.html">said,</a> “There were a lot of supervisors in the counties that promoted it &#8230; So, this is their opportunity to step up. Fund it!”
One state senator reacted, <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article306495616.html">saying,</a> “He is being absolutely recalcitrant because the voters didn’t vote the way he wanted them to and the way he told them to . . . He’s taking his football and going home.”
After <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/no-funding-allocated-for-prop-36-newsom-may-revise/">dragging his feet</a> for the first half of 2025, Newsom finally offered some funding for Prop. 36’s proposals. But <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article312272421.html">critics argue</a> that this money was already allocated and not enough to carry out the reforms in Prop. 36.
Newsom’s recalcitrance is unfortunate. Not only is he subverting the will of the voters, he’s also pushing back against commonsense policies designed to control California’s crime problem.
Californians know there needs to be accountability when someone breaks the law. They voted for it. And now Newsom and the California legislature need to fund it.
* * *
Zack Smith is a Senior Legal Fellow and Manager, Supreme Court and Appellate Advocacy Program, The Heritage Foundation.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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California Gov. Newsom Leads Democratic Redistricting Plan In The State

California’s Crime Crisis: Voters Took Action, Newsom Took His Football And Went Home

California

Crime

Democrats

Felony

Gavin Newsom

Los Angeles

Oakland

Sacramento

San Francisco

shoplifting

Violent Crime

Voters

While Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is ratcheting up language against federal law enforcement, a string of violent “smash-and-grab” robbery schemes in California are drawing renewed attention to the state’s crime issues. 
California is seeing another spike in mob-style robberies, which became commonplace during the COVID lockdown. Just this month, three alarming mob robberies hit jewelry stores in the Bay Area, racking up more than a million dollars in damages.
In fact, one expert says that there have been 30 violent mob-style robberies in the state since just March &#8212; and that&#8217;s only accounting for attacks on jewelry stores, specifically.
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This past week, for example, an armed gang of up to <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/09/25/us-news/wild-video-shows-huge-mob-storming-california-jewelry-store-in-1m-raid/">30 people</a> raided a jewelry store outside of San Francisco. They smashed cases with crowbars and pickaxes and stole around $1 million dollars worth of goods. Due to new security measures that had to be taken after a 2023 robbery, the suspects were locked inside – but they used guns and shot their way out of the store.
So far, authorities have arrested seven suspects; they’re all from Oakland and range in age from 17 to 31. Law enforcement believes these are repeat offenders.
Two similar robberies took place in just the past couple of weeks. One of the targets was a Bay Area shop called Kim Hung Jewelry. In that case, a car crashed through the store and more than a dozen masked robbers smashed display cases and stole merchandise. The 88-year-old store owner was shoved to the ground, suffered a stroke, and was cut by broken glass. 
&#8220;He is okay,&#8221; a family friend <a href="https://abc7chicago.com/post/san-jose-california-robbery-88-year-old-man-assaulted-during-brazen-smash-grab-jewelry-heist-police-say-video/17780018/">told</a> ABC 7 News. &#8220;Business is not okay. Everyone knows that situation right now. Every business is in danger.”
Scott Guginsky, VP of the Jewelers Security Alliance, spoke to ABC7 about this trend and said he&#8217;s “never seen this level of violence.”
&#8220;Since March, we&#8217;ve had 30 violent robberies in California targeting jewelry stores,&#8221; he <a href="https://abc7news.com/post/30-violent-mob-style-jewelry-store-robberies-california-march/17879612/">said</a>. &#8220;This is something I haven&#8217;t seen in my 30-plus years of investigating jewelry crime with the NYPD.”
President Donald Trump has become determined to lower crime rates, particularly in some Democrat-run cities, specifically cited Los Angeles and Oakland, where crime is a major issue. Just last month, U.S. News &amp; World Report <a href="https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/oakland-most-dangerous-places-us-list/3935868/">ranked</a> Oakland as the second <a href="https://realestate.usnews.com/places/rankings/most-dangerous-places">most dangerous city</a> in the nation – only second to Memphis, another city targeted by Trump. The rankings are based on FBI crime rates, specifically murder and property crime for every 100,000 people.
Gov. Newsom, though, has <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/08/12/icymi-californias-homicide-violent-crime-rates-down-amid-trumps-continued-assault-on-states-nationwide/">pushed back</a> on this and claims California&#8217;s crime is under control and not an issue. Moreover, he&#8217;s focusing most of his attention on Trump&#8217;s efforts to battle crime and arrest people who are in the country illegally &#8212; including people from Newsom&#8217;s &#8220;sanctuary state.&#8221; 
On Tuesday night, Newsom generated much criticism for how he described U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers during an appearance on Stephen Colbert’s left-wing late-night show.
“Masked men jumping out of unmarked cars, people disappearing,&#8221; Newsom claimed. &#8220;No due process. No oversight, zero accountability happening in the United States of America today.&#8221;
&#8220;People ask, well, is &#8216;authoritarianism&#8217; you being hyperbolic? Bulls*** we&#8217;re being hyperbolic. If you&#8217;re a black and brown community, it&#8217;s here in this country,&#8221; the Democrat continued. &#8220;I mean, if some guy jumped out of an unmarked car in a van with a mask on, tried to grab me, I mean, by definition, you&#8217;re gonna push back. … These are authoritarian actions by an authoritarian government.”
Newsom also, unsurprisingly, took aim at Trump, too. “We have 41 lawsuits against this son of a b****,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We&#8217;re pushing back, and we&#8217;re winning.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
LAST NIGHT: Gavin Newsom said people need to push back on ICE agents because they’re the result of an authoritarian government
THIS MORNING: a sniper shot up an ICE facility <a href="https://t.co/SGUZgm9cD6">pic.twitter.com/SGUZgm9cD6</a>
— Brendon Leslie (@BrendonLeslie) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrendonLeslie/status/1970859241121685589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
Over the weekend, Newsom signed a law banning ICE agents from wearing masks while making arrests. Some agents currently mask to protect their identities, considering all the threats and violence against them. Assaults on ICE agents, for instance, have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/reprehensible-assaults-on-ice-agents-skyrocket-up-830-over-last-year">jumped 830%</a> compared to a year ago.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called the new law “despicable” and “a flagrant attempt to endanger” federal officers.
Agency sources have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nice-try-gavin-newsom-cant-stop-ice-agents-from-wearing-masks-sources-say">told The Daily Wire</a> that the new law isn’t going to stop them from masking. “Nice try by Newsom, but he knows it doesn’t apply to federal agents,&#8221; one source said. &#8220;He loves stirring the pot so that people find more ways to bring conflict to ICE.”

Screenshot 2025-09-25 at 5.27.36 PM

As Newsom Targets Federal Law Enforcement, California Sees Mob-Style Robbery Spike

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Politics

Robbery

WASHINGTON — Top Democrats in the United States who are opposing President Donald Trump&#8217;s crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C., lead the most dangerous cities in the country.
Federal authorities shared Wednesday that they have arrested over 100 people in the nation&#8217;s capitol in the last week since Trump called in the National Guard  and federalized D.C. police to crack down on violent crime. The move has been condemned by a number top Democrats, including Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and others.
These officials, somewhat surprisingly, come from states with extremely high crime rates. Oakland, California <a href="https://realestate.usnews.com/places/rankings/best-places-to-live/most-dangerous-places?sort=overall&amp;high_to_low=true">is ranked second</a> on the list of most dangerous cities in the United States, and Baltimore <a href="https://foxbaltimore.com/news/city-in-crisis/baltimore-ranked-fourth-most-dangerous-us-city-in-new-poll">is ranked the fourth</a> most dangerous city in the United States, according to U.S. News and World Report.
Both California and Maryland are in the top 20 most dangerous states in the country.
“If Democrats had any common sense, they would follow President Trump’s lead to crack down on violent crime that has plagued our nation’s capital – and Democrat-run cities across the country,&#8221; White House deputy press secretary Taylor Rogers told The Daily Wire.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
He was just getting warmed up in Los Angeles.
He will gaslight his way into militarizing any city he wants in America.
This is what dictators do. <a href="https://t.co/IPvx9Hrp0q">https://t.co/IPvx9Hrp0q</a>
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) <a href="https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/status/1954965149225562627?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
&#8220;Instead of criticizing President Trump’s popular, tough-on crime policies, they should focus on cleaning up their own cities which are some of the most dangerous places in America,&#8221; she added. &#8220;Public safety isn’t political, it’s a top priority for every American and the Democrats continue to brush under the rug.”
Rogers&#8217;s remarks echoed those of the president himself, who told The Daily Wire in the Oval Office on Thursday that Democrats would be much better off saying, &#8220;We want to help President Trump with the crime because it is an epidemic.&#8221;
&#8220;People are so happy to see our military going into D.C. and getting these thugs out,&#8221; the president told The Daily Wire as he took questions from reporters at the White House. &#8220;As you know, we arrested a lot of people yesterday&#8230;.We are getting people that have arrest records that you wouldn’t believe.
&#8220;It’s another reason why the Democrats lost the election in a landslide,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They lie.&#8221;
During a press conference at the White House on Monday, the president specifically took aim at Oakland and Baltimore as he discussed cities that might need his help in over coming crime.
&#8220;And then you have, of course, Baltimore and Oakland. We don’t even mention that anymore there. They’re so far gone. We’re not going to let it happen.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_961071" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrats-opposing-trumps-dc-crack-down-lead-americas-most-dangerous-cities/president-trump-delivers-remarks-from-the-oval-office-2" rel="attachment wp-att-961071"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-961071" class="wp-image-961071 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2230149076-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2230149076-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2230149076-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2230149076-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2230149076.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>U.S. President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters with Frank Bisignano (L), Administrator of the Social Security Administration, in the Oval Office on August 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)</div>
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee <a href="https://localnewsmatters.org/2025/08/12/president-trump-is-wrong-oakland-mayor-fires-back-after-potus-calls-out-city-on-crime/">said that the president is wrong</a> about her city, saying in a statement that “President Trump’s characterization of Oakland is wrong and not grounded in facts, but in fear-mongering. This is not leadership — it’s an attempt to score cheap political points by tearing down communities he doesn’t understand.”
“Our comprehensive public safety strategy is working — crime rates are coming down even though we still face many challenges. And let me repeat, President Trump is wrong.&#8221;
Maryland Governor Wes Moore <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/trump-national-guard-washington-maryland-governor-heartbroken-2112634">has also taken issue</a> with the president&#8217;s remarks, describing himself &#8220;heartbroken&#8221; for those service members sent to D.C. and claiming that Trump is using the issue as a &#8220;tool&#8221; to distract his opponents.
&#8220;I&#8217;m embarrassed, I&#8217;m angered and, frankly, I&#8217;m heartbroken for members of the National Guard asked to take on this mission.&#8221;
&#8220;What we&#8217;re seeing right now, this distraction, distracting away from the fact that Donald Trump&#8217;s policies have caused unemployment to go up, have caused people to lose their health care, have caused children to be able to lose their food benefits and he&#8217;s now using this as a tool,&#8221; the governor said on CNN.
He added: &#8220;He&#8217;s using military personnel, these citizen soldiers, as a cudgel, and as a tool to be able to advance his political purposes.&#8221;
In response to Moore&#8217;s remarks, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/trump-national-guard-washington-maryland-governor-heartbroken-2112634">told Newsweek</a>: &#8220;What&#8217;s truly embarrassing and heartbreaking is how long Democrat leaders have allowed violent crime to surge out of control in cities without taking action. It&#8217;s heartbreaking that in Washington D.C. innocent people are robbed, assaulted, and killed far too often.&#8221;
Memphis, Tennessee leads the nation as the number one most dangerous city in the United States. The city&#8217;s Democrat mayor, Paul Young, does not appear to have addressed Trump&#8217;s move to call in the National Guard to D.C. Young did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
St. Louis, Missouri, lands at number three on the list of most dangerous cities in the United States, and is also led by a Democrat mayor, Cara Spencer, who also does not appear to have weighed in on the president&#8217;s move. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire.
Detroit, Michigan, comes in at number five on the list of most dangerous cities in the United States. The city is led by Mayor Mike Duggan, an independent. The mayor&#8217;s spokesman John Roach referred The Daily Wire to crime statistics indicating that <a href="https://detroitmi.gov/news/detroit-partnerships-result-another-historic-drop-violent-crime-2024-fewest-homicides-1965-shootings">crime in the city dropped during 2024</a>. Roach said that federal law enforcement in Detroit, including the U.S. Attorney, DEA, ATF, and FBI, are already full partners with the Detroit police in gun violence reduction.
<div>&#8220;With the enhanced efforts of the new US Attorney, Jerome Gorgon, Detroit this year is experiencing the lowest level of gun violence since 1965,&#8221; Roach told The Daily Wire. &#8220;Expanded funding for federal prosecutors and their supporting federal agencies (ATF, DEA, FBI) would speed up the violence reduction trends and would be strongly welcomed by the city.&#8221;</div>
<div></div>
<div>He added: &#8220;We have no indication from the federal government that they have any plans to disrupt the highly successful federal/city partnership currently in place.&#8221;</div>

Trump Signals Tough Stance With Putin Ahead Of Alaska Summit

Democrats Opposing Trump’s DC Crack Down Lead America’s Most Dangerous Cities

Donald Trump

Maryland

National Guard

A Christian church in California is hosting a Black History Month event on Friday open to “Black worshippers” while hosting a separate event on Saturday where “all are welcome.”
Resurrection Oakland Church announced two events this week to celebrate Black History Month, including one called the “Black Fellowship Dinner” which appears limited to black congregants. The events will feature talks from Irwyn Ince, a leader in the Presbyterian Church in America who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/christian-mission-organization-encourages-illegal-immigrants-to-hide-identity-from-ice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">faced criticism</a> last week after the missions organization that he runs encouraged illegal immigrants to mislead federal immigration authorities. 
“An evening with our special speaker, Rev. Dr. Irwyn Ince, for our Black worshippers at ResOak and their families. Connect with and encourage one another as we cap off our month long celebration of Black History Month with rich fellowship,” an <a href="https://archive.ph/FqU0l">advertisement</a> posted on the church’s website reads. 
The advertisement also encouraged its members to patronize black-owned businesses.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-880365" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/Screen-Shot-2025-02-20-at-10.38.49-AM.png" alt="" width="2722" height="1277" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/Screen-Shot-2025-02-20-at-10.38.49-AM.png 2722w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/Screen-Shot-2025-02-20-at-10.38.49-AM-300x141.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/Screen-Shot-2025-02-20-at-10.38.49-AM-1024x480.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/Screen-Shot-2025-02-20-at-10.38.49-AM-768x360.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/Screen-Shot-2025-02-20-at-10.38.49-AM-1536x721.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/Screen-Shot-2025-02-20-at-10.38.49-AM-2048x961.png 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 2722px) 100vw, 2722px" /></div>
The RSVP <a href="https://resoakland.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/2736388" target="_blank" rel="noopener">page</a> for the event also reiterates that the event is for “our Black worshippers” and their families. It is unclear if the two pastors of the church, who are white and Asian, will be in attendance. 
A separate event advertised on Saturday with Ince notes that it is open to all and will focus on a discussion about “race, justice, and theology.” 
Resurrection Oakland is part of the Presbyterian Church in America, a conservative Protestant denomination whose members backed President Donald Trump by nearly two-thirds in 2020. 
Other leaders in the PCA were upset about the racially exclusive dinner opportunity, saying the event was &#8220;hostile&#8221; to what the church should stand for. 
Pastor Ryan Biese of First Presbyterian Church in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, told The Daily Wire that the PCA should repent for having a church that is hosting &#8220;a dinner that is segregated along ethnic lines&#8221; in 2025.
“The church is not confined to one nation,” he said. “The church consists of all those who profess the true religion together with their children. So why is this congregation putting up a dividing wall between black worshipers and every other sort of worshiper? And why is our MNA coordinator, who is paid close to $300,000 a year, participating in this?”
Another concerned teaching elder in the PCA asked, “Does MNA — or the PCA, for that matter—want to be known for gospel proclamation and church-planting, or for racially segregated fellowship meals?”
Ince runs Mission to North America, a subsidiary of the PCA that is supposed to focus on planting churches. Last week, Mission to North America apologized after it shared a resource page offering legal advice to illegal immigrants and opining on Trump administration immigration policy.
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In previous talks, Ince has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA1EhYT3nAA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggested</a> that black people need to have their own spaces and that black people are uncomfortable when they are around too many white people. During a talk he gave back in 2019, he said being “black and tired” and “minority fatigue” were real issues for black people when interacting with white people. 
“So you’ve got to experience some spaces and times where you just don’t have to work so hard,” he said. “There is a grounding and a positive sense of belonging that can come from an ethnic affinity in a world of dizzying diversity.”
He went on to say that churches should consider “the trauma” that black people have from being in a white-majority space when looking to diversify their staff. 
&#8220;The likelihood is if you&#8217;re an all-white staff, you ain&#8217;t gonna be enough. Your church ain&#8217;t going to be enough. They are going to wear out,” he said. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Then we see-saw down into an extrabiblical command for majority-white churches to ensure &#8220;affinity spaces&#8221; for POC hires: &#8220;The likelihood is if you&#8217;re an all-white staff, you ain&#8217;t gonna be enough. Your church ain&#8217;t gonna be enough. They gonna wear out.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/Dq5Yfa5NJM">pic.twitter.com/Dq5Yfa5NJM</a>
— Woke Preacher Clips (@WokePreacherTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/WokePreacherTV/status/1567902107470102529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 8, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Mission to North America, which Ince leads, has a number of other ethnic-centered ministries including “African American Ministries,&#8221; and “Hispanic Ministries.”
The <a href="https://pcamna.org/ministry/african-american-ministries/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">page</a> for African American Ministries says it&#8217;s a negative thing that the majority of PCA members are white. 
“The lack of representation in leadership is reflected in our pews,” the page says. “The results negatively affect how we experience the PCA.”
The <a href="https://pcamna.org/ministry/hispanic-ministries/?gad_source=1&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiAwtu9BhC8ARIsAI9JHalLsGDqGsRe6fePPMqrBawodRNjHJthWIbeUzhjYVLBVQKIO7cAREgaAuG-EALw_wcB">page</a> for Hispanic Ministries says that the “demographic trend” of mass migration into the United States from Latin American countries is an &#8220;unprecedented opportunity.” 
“For several decades God has been actively changing the demographic makeup of our nation. Since the United States loosened its immigration policies, people from Latin countries flooded into our land of opportunity,” the page for the ministry says. 
The ministry noted statistics showing that the Hispanic population in America will increase by 200% in the coming years while the “non-Hispanic white population” will grow by just 6%. 
“In addition, while the average age of the United States population is about 35 years of age, Hispanics are much younger with an average age of around 27,” the ministry says. “MNA Hispanic Ministries sees the demographic changes of our nation as an unprecedented opportunity – orchestrated by God Himself – to continue our commitment to the fulfillment of the Great Commission.”
Neither Ince nor Resurrection Oakland Church responded to requests for comment.

Religious cross on a building’s gable

California Church Hosts ‘Segregated’ Event For ‘Black Worshippers’ To Celebrate Black History Month

Black History Month

Christianity

Wokeness

Former Oakland Democrat Mayor Sheng Thao and three other individuals were indicted on federal corruption charges last week for their part in an alleged bribery scheme.
The U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement that in addition to Thao, her longtime romantic partner, Andre Jones, and local businessmen David Trung Duong and Andy Hung Duong were also charged in the case.
&#8220;In the weeks leading up to the City of Oakland mayoral election in November 2022 and following her election as mayor, Thao promised to take official actions as the mayor of Oakland to benefit David Duong and Andy Duong, in exchange for the Duongs providing various benefits to Thao and Jones,&#8221; the statement said, according to the recently unsealed indicted.
David Duong was the president and CEO of a recycling company that provided residential recycling collection services to Oakland households, and was also the chairman and co-owner of a housing company formed to develop and manufacture prefabricated modular homes, the DOJ said. Andy Duong, David Duong’s son, was an employee of the recycling company and also a founder and co-owner of the housing company.
&#8220;The indictment describes that Thao promised to commit the City of Oakland to purchase housing units from the Duongs’ housing company, extend the City’s contract with the Duongs’ recycling company, and appoint city officials selected by the Duongs,&#8221; the statement continued. &#8220;In exchange, David and Andy Duong promised to and did fund a $75,000 negative mailer campaign targeting Thao’s opponents in the mayoral election, and made $95,000 in payments to Jones for a no-show job with their housing company, with the promise of additional payments, all intended for the benefit of Thao and Jones.&#8221;
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Prosecutors said that once Thao became mayor in January 2023, she allegedly continued the corrupt scheme by following through on delivering her end of the deal.
&#8220;Defendants allegedly took steps to conceal their bribery scheme by, among other actions: at Thao’s direction, making the bribe payments to Jones to avoid a paper trail to Thao; misrepresenting that Jones had a legitimate job with the Duongs’ housing company to mask the bribery payments; creating false invoices for the bribe payments from the Duongs’ recycling company; and failing to disclose benefits received on California Form 700, Statement of Economic Interests,&#8221; the statement added.
All four defendants in the case were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery; one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds; one count of conspiracy to commit honest services mail and wire fraud; one count of honest services mail fraud; and two counts of honest services wire fraud.
Prosecutors also charged Andy Duong with one count of making false statements to government agents.
If convicted, the defendants could each face more than 60 years in prison.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao Speaks Out After FBI Raid Of Her Home

Former Oakland Democrat Mayor Sheng Thao Indicted On Bribery, Fraud Charges

Mayor

In-N-Out Burger President Lynsi Snyder opened up about why she made the decision to close the company&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oakland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oakland</a> location, detailing how crime and violence made the restaurant staff unsafe.
California has seen a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/desantis-rips-newsom-over-california-exodus-newsom-refuses-to-address" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mass exodus</a> from the state since 2020, over a host of reasons, including the spike in crime linked to failed soft-on-crime policies. The closure of the Oakland location was the first time the company had to shutter a store, Snyder said.
&#8220;It was just absolutely dangerous. In, out of 365 days, I think 300 days there was some type of event,&#8221; Snyder <a href="https://www.prageru.com/video/in-n-out-president-lynsi-snyder-on-how-god-gave-her-the-strength-to-lead-one" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> PragerU host Marissa Streit. The president cited burglaries, violence, fights, theft, and a stabbing, and said there was even an incident of gunshots fired through the store.
The president of the popular fast food chain also noted the lengthy wait time for police to show up when called. The city is notorious for slow 911 response times. Oakland 911 wait times were worse than any other city in the state, with an average wait time lasting three to four times longer than the state mandate, a 2023 NBC <a href="https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/oakland-deadline-911-response-times/3582739/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> found.
&#8220;It was huge,&#8221; Snyder said of the decision to shut down the store. &#8220;But, for the safety of our associates, we just felt like, this is not okay.&#8221;
The company announced in January that they&#8217;d be closing the location. As highlighted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/in-n-out-burger-to-close-its-only-location-in-oakland-due-to-crime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a> at the time, crime in the city spiked from 2022 to 2023, with robberies increasing by 38% and burglaries by 23%.
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Chief Operating Officer Denny Warnick said in January that the company took &#8220;repeated steps to create safer conditions,&#8221; but their customers and associates are still &#8220;regularly victimized by car break-ins, property damage, theft, and armed robberies.”
“We are grateful for the local community, which has supported us for over 18 years, and we recognize that this closure negatively impacts our Associates and their families,” Warnick said. “Additionally, this location remains a busy and profitable one for the company, but our top priority must be the safety and well-being of our Customers and Associates – we cannot ask them to visit or work in an unsafe environment.”
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
NEW: In-N-Out owner says she was forced to close their Oakland location because there was a crime almost every day, says the closure was the only one in 75 years.
Oakland is a great litmus test for what happens when you let liberals control an entire city for an extended period… <a href="https://t.co/tPpydx8zdP">pic.twitter.com/tPpydx8zdP</a>
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) <a href="https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1871743786562514970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 25, 2024</a></blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/donotcomply-praise-erupts-online-for-in-n-out-burgers-anti-vax-mandate-stand" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘#DoNotComply’: Praise Erupts Online For In-N-Out Burger’s Anti-Vax Mandate Stand</a>

American regional chain of fast food restaurants In-N-Out

‘Absolutely Dangerous’: In-N-Out Burger President Explains Why She Shut Down Oakland Restaurant

In-N-Out Burger President Lynsi Snyder Explains Why She Shut Down Oakland Restaurant 

Food

Restaurant

U.S.

We&#8217;ve heard a lot from Tom Homan lately, and for good reason. He&#8217;s the incoming border czar for the second Trump administration. And he&#8217;s vowed, unapologetically, to deport as many illegal aliens as possible — and to arrest any local officials who try to intervene.
We talked about that promise yesterday, in the context of the mayor of Denver, who&#8217;s suggesting that he will defy federal immigration authorities who try to carry out deportations in the second Trump term. Homan&#8217;s response was the correct one — if the mayor of Denver wants to go to jail, then ICE will happily oblige.
This kind of showdown between Tom Homan and local officials has been brewing for a very long time. During the first Trump administration, when Homan served briefly as the acting director of ICE, several local governments announced that they would undermine the work of federal immigration officials. And maybe no single local official was more brazen about her efforts than Libby Schaaf, who at the time was the mayor of Oakland, California.
This is an incident that&#8217;s mostly been forgotten. But it&#8217;s one of the most extraordinary moments in modern American politics. And it&#8217;s crucial to understanding Tom Homan&#8217;s origin story as a hardliner in dealing with states that interfere with federal immigration enforcement. It also provides insight into how he&#8217;s likely to direct immigration enforcement in Trump&#8217;s second term.
Here&#8217;s how the showdown began. As mayor of Oakland, Schaaf somehow got wind of an upcoming ICE raid in the Bay Area. And then she did everything in her power to sabotage the raid in order to protect as many illegal aliens as she could. First she went on social media to announce that the raid was coming. Then she held a press conference to explain that it was her &#8220;duty&#8221; to compromise an ongoing federal law enforcement operation. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="001 Oakland Mayor" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iK--3uQaGdU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
What Schaaf was basically doing there was serving as a gang lookout. She heard that the police were coming, so she told everyone to hide, with the clear and explicit goal of obstructing law enforcement. And it worked. Following Schaaf&#8217;s early warning, more than 800 illegal aliens with criminal records managed to evade ICE&#8217;s crackdown in the Bay Area.
As Tom Homan <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/28/us/oakland-mayor-libby-schaaf-ice-arrests/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">put it</a> at the time:
<blockquote>The Oakland mayor’s decision to publicize her suspicions about ICE operations further increased that risk for my officers and alerted criminal aliens – making clear that this reckless decision was based on her political agenda.</blockquote>
To be clear, every single person that ICE was looking for was guilty of multiple crimes. They were people who had no right to be in this country, for one thing. And they also committed additional crimes when they were here. Among the 150 aliens that were arrested by ICE during that crackdown, for example, was a gang member who had four prior deportations, along with convictions for sex with a minor, DUI, and assault. He apparently wasn&#8217;t paying attention to the news that day, so Tom Homan&#8217;s agents were able to find him.
After the raid, Donald Trump told reporters that he would direct the DOJ to investigate Libby Schaaf for obstructing federal agents. He told his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, to look into it. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="002 Trump Critical Of Oakland" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pCUHdy2OOpc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
As we all know, in the end, nothing came out of this. Jeff Sessions and everyone else in the room nodded along as Trump made this suggestion, and then they promptly forgot all about it. Instead of prosecuting Schaaf for interfering with the enforcement of federal law, the DOJ got to work investigating Donald Trump for things he didn&#8217;t even do. They were more interested in fake allegations of collusion with Russia, than investigating actual, videotaped evidence that the mayor of Oakland was colluding with felons to obstruct federal investigations.
At the time, the idea of hauling an elected official to a courtroom seemed like a red line to a lot of conservatives. Even when an elected official was clearly and deliberately violating the law, as was the case with Libby Schaaf, very few people in power had the political will to punish her for it. They didn&#8217;t want to go on camera and call for her arrest. After all, Republicans thought, if we start arresting our political opponents — even ones who actually have committed serious crimes — then Democrats might try to arrest us. Of course as it turns out, Democrats didn’t need permission from Republicans. They were going to escalate to this level regardless. Republicans played it safe for fear of the Democrat escalation. But Democrats escalated anyway. It’s a tale as old as time. 
But Tom Homan was the notable exception. All the way back in early 2018 — even before the mayor of Oakland publicly undermined ICE — Homan <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/367167-trump-ice-pick-politicians-who-run-sanctuary-cities-should-be-charged/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the leader of every sanctuary city in the country should go to jail. But Homan was apparently out-voted, so that never happened. Schaaf was never investigated, much less prosecuted.
Of course, over the past few years, a lot&#8217;s changed. Democrats have decided that there&#8217;s no problem with prosecuting their political opponents for crimes that are completely fake. They have dispensed with every &#8220;norm&#8221; and &#8220;principle of jurisprudence&#8221; that counsels against these kinds of prosecutions.
So now, six years later, there&#8217;s reason to believe that Homan will have the opportunity to actually follow through on his plan to arrest officials who stand in his way. Homan certainly seems to think that&#8217;s a distinct possibility, based on his comments responding to the mayor of Denver this week. I played part of this clip yesterday. Here it is again if you missed it:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="003 Tom Homan" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x7G6IDygrLE?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
That was Homan&#8217;s response to the mayor of Denver, Mike Johnston, threatening that there would be a &#8220;Tiananmen Square moment&#8221; if ICE tried to enforce immigration law in Denver. Johnston implied that Denver Police and tens of thousands of Denver residents would obstruct ICE, in the same way the guy stood up to the line of Chinese tanks.
So the analogy is equating the enforcement of existing immigration laws — laws that any country needs in order to be defined as a country — with a communist regime&#8217;s violent crackdown on a pro-democracy protest. He&#8217;s saying Denver residents are justified in seeing a parallel between the two events. And he&#8217;s encouraging them, along with law enforcement, to stand in the way of federal agents.
Fundamentally, what&#8217;s happening here is that the mayor of Denver is assuming that the second Trump administration will function a lot like the first one. He&#8217;s betting that Republicans will back off, rather than upset the activists and the mothers who are &#8220;waving the roses&#8221; and so on.
That&#8217;s the same approach that the local media and Democrat activists are taking in California, where a similar effort to &#8220;resist&#8221; the next Trump administration is underway. As Fox News reports, a city council in Northern California has just voted to resist federal immigration officials in Trump&#8217;s <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/california-bay-area-city-considers-ordinance-blocking-local-resources-from-supporting-trump-mass-deportations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">second term</a>:
<blockquote>The Redwood City Council in California voted 4-3 in favor of calling for staff to draft an ordinance for consideration that would restrict the city from cooperating with immigration authorities. &#8230; During discussion of his proposal on Monday, [council member Chris] Sturken argued in favor of passing an ordinance to ensure that no city resources may be utilized to cooperate with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, unless required under law.</blockquote>
Here&#8217;s how the local CBS affiliate is selling this proposal:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="004 Bay Area Immigrants" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bDyg9e5Ibow?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
You might have noticed that, every time they try to make these emotional appeals where they try to &#8220;humanize&#8221; people who are in this country illegally, they end up sabotaging their own argument. In this case, we apparently have a woman who came to this country illegally more than a decade ago. And in that period, she&#8217;s never bothered to learn conversational English. She&#8217;s never obtained any kind of legal authorization to be here. But we&#8217;re supposed to feel sorry for her and allow her to stay in this country, because even though she broke the law, she seems like a nice person. That&#8217;s the argument they&#8217;re going with in the state of California.
And they&#8217;re not alone. 
Activists in Arizona are doing the same thing. They&#8217;re gearing up for the second Trump administration by working on their &#8220;storytelling&#8221; skills. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="005 Arizona Migrant Advocates" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XhnjzFygeOA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
So the &#8220;narrative&#8221; is that illegal aliens are &#8220;criminals,&#8221; according to the activist. And that narrative is true, because these aliens are in this country illegally. But did you know that some criminals are moms and dads, too? Did you realize that? And you can&#8217;t possibly throw moms and dads in jail. You can&#8217;t possibly make them face the consequences of their actions. That would just be unthinkable — even though it happens every day, in every state, in every country in the world.
<h3><a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MATT WALSH&#8217;S &#8216;AM I RACIST?&#8217; NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+</a></h3>
Then she goes on to say that one of her clients has been in Arizona for six months without filing an asylum claim. And that&#8217;s part of the problem. No one should be in this country while their asylum claim is being processed, because the overwhelming majority of asylum claims are fraudulent. These claims are often crafted with the help of NGOs and law firms, who include fake stories of political persecution to cover up the fact that these aliens are here seeking economic benefits. But once you let people into this country to file these bogus claims, as we&#8217;ve learned, it&#8217;s very hard to get rid of them. So again, this is yet another argument from the activists that ends up being self-defeating. They&#8217;re making our point for us.
These are people who have not adapted their strategy in any meaningful way in the past four years.
Rather than offering solutions, they&#8217;re trying (and failing) to appeal to our emotions. And of course, they&#8217;re also committing to engaging in even more lawfare. That&#8217;s not going to change, either.
Over in Illinois, for example, they&#8217;re vowing to take the Trump administration to court over his proposal to use &#8220;military assets&#8221; to carry out deportations. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="006 Illinois Officials Fight Trump" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gYGfCIJA0ik?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&nbsp;
Trump&#8217;s proposal to use the military is a concerning sign for Democrats, though not for the reasons they&#8217;re claiming. In reality, they&#8217;re upset because it&#8217;s a clear signal that, in his second term, Donald Trump is going to use every available means at his disposal to get illegal aliens out of this country. In terms of tactics, this is an escalation from what we saw in Trump&#8217;s first term. And so, predictably, Democrats are claiming it&#8217;s somehow illegal.
What&#8217;s missing from their analysis, though, is that Trump never said he&#8217;d order troops to remove illegal aliens. He said that military &#8220;assets&#8221; could be used — which is in keeping with how every president since Bill Clinton has sent the National Guard (and active-duty members of the military) to the border to perform various support roles. Those roles have included monitoring the border and fixing equipment, for example.
Trump&#8217;s incoming homeland security adviser (and deputy chief of staff) Stephen Miller has previously said that, in Trump&#8217;s second term, the military could build temporary facilities to house illegal aliens prior to their deportation. That&#8217;s another option that would probably have no problem in the courts. 
As Ryan Burke, a professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy, recently put it: 
<blockquote>I think that [Trump&#8217;s plan] probably won&#8217;t face a whole lot of successful challenges. There&#8217;s too much ambiguity in these laws to point to something that says, hey, you absolutely cannot do this.</blockquote>
For their part, over in New Mexico, state officials are walking the line between &#8220;deportations are inhumane&#8221; and &#8220;the border needs to be secure somehow.&#8221; Here&#8217;s the state&#8217;s governor explaining that, while more border security is good, it&#8217;s wrong to separate families and use the military in any way to accomplish that goal. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="007 New Mexico&#039;s Governor" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TT1X5hUzUwA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&nbsp;
This is the middle ground that some Democrats have apparently decided on, ahead of Trump&#8217;s second term. They recognize that Americans overwhelmingly want border security. They want to see immigration law being enforced. After the last election, there&#8217;s no denying that.
But then Democrats claim that any immigration enforcement needs to respect the sanctity of the families of illegal aliens. And then they threaten to use the legal system to shut down any practical solutions.
They&#8217;re going with that approach because, for the most part, it worked during Trump&#8217;s first term.
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Politicians like the mayor of Oakland didn&#8217;t face any consequences for undermining federal immigration policy. Complaining about &#8220;family separations&#8221; — as if family separations don&#8217;t happen every day in our judicial system — was effective as well. Democrats could claim to care about immigration enforcement, while preventing immigration law from actually being enforced.
From the response of these various sanctuary cities and states to the incoming Trump administration, it&#8217;s very apparent that Democrats&#8217; tactics probably won&#8217;t be any different this time around. They think they can derail Trump&#8217;s deportation agenda with the same lazy appeals to emotion, backed up by lawfare. 
This is an act we&#8217;ve all seen before. It&#8217;s an act that Tom Homan in particular is very familiar with. He&#8217;s been very consistent, over the past eight years, about how exactly he&#8217;d deal with this particular strategy. He plans to deport anyone who&#8217;s illegally in this country, whether they&#8217;re part of a &#8220;family unit&#8221; or not. He doesn&#8217;t seem particularly keen on allowing anyone to stand in his way, either. And if there&#8217;s a reason for Democrats to drop the emotional blackmail and let Tom Homan do his job, it&#8217;s that no one has any incentive anymore to hold him back.

The 2024 Republican National Convention

How Trump’s Border Czar Plans To Put Sanctuary Cities Out Of Business

How Trump's Border Czar Plans To Put Sanctuary Cities Out Of Business

Arizona

Border Crisis

Illegal Immigration

Illinois

Immigration

Matt Walsh

Opinion

Tom Homan

Far-left <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oakland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oakland</a> Mayor Sheng Thao raged during a press conference this week after federal law enforcement agents raided her home.
More than a dozen agents entered the home late last week and removed a variety of items from the search, including paper boxes, clipboards, and large plastic tubs.
Several other properties were also raided during the investigation that were connected to a politically influential family that runs the city’s curbside recycling program.
&#8220;I want to be crystal clear: I have done nothing wrong,&#8221; she claimed in remarks to the media on Monday. &#8220;I can tell you with confidence that this investigation is not about me. I have not been charged with a crime, and I am confident that I will not be charged with a crime because I am innocent.&#8221;
She demanded to know &#8220;what probable cause the FBI&#8221; had when they searched her home even though the authorities are legally not allowed to show the affidavit that supports the warrant, according to former FBI special agent Stuart Kaplan.
&#8220;What evidence have they collected that justifies raiding the home of a sitting mayor without notice and without the courtesy of a conversation?&#8221; she asked. &#8220;I want to know more about the handful of billionaires from San Francisco and Piedmont who are hell-bent on running me out of office. I want to know why the day following the qualification of a recall election, funded by some of the richest people in the Bay Area, seemed like the right day to execute a warrant.&#8221;
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She then claimed that &#8220;radical right-wing forces&#8221; were trying to take over Oakland by having her ousted via a criminal investigation.
&#8220;I will not be bullied and I will not be disparaged and I will not be threatened out of this office,&#8221; she said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Days after the FBI raided her house, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao takes full responsibility for all finance and corruption allegations.
Just kidding, she blamed a radical right wing conspiracy… <a href="https://t.co/uFlDQIRpW7">pic.twitter.com/uFlDQIRpW7</a>
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheKevinDalton/status/1805346408599633976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 24, 2024</a></blockquote>

Oakland Democrat Mayor Sheng Thao Rages At Press Conference After FBI Raids Her Home

Democrat

Federal law enforcement officials raided the home of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oakland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oakland</a> Mayor Sheng Thao, a Democrat, on Thursday morning, according to reports and video of agents at the home.
The San Francisco Chronicle <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/fbi-raids-home-of-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-19523532.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that several other properties that were raided were &#8220;connected to a politically influential family that runs the city’s curbside recycling program.&#8221;
More than a dozen agents entered the home and removed a variety of items from the search, including paper boxes, clipboards, and large plastic tubs.
The report said that the other warrants were served at the homes of David Duong, the president and CEO of recycling company Cal Waste Solutions, his son Andy Duong, and their company offices.
&#8220;The FBI is conducting court authorized law enforcement activity on Maiden Lane,&#8221; the FBI said in a statement. &#8220;We are unable to provide additional information at this time.&#8221;
Investigative reporter Dan Noyes said that law enforcement sources told him the raid was part of a &#8220;public corruption investigation of Thao and her boyfriend.&#8221;
Noyes added that the investigation also reportedly involves the IRS and the U.S. Postal Service.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BREAKING: Sources tell ABC News that the FBI raid at home of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao also involves the IRS and U.S. Postal Service. I just arrived at the scene. Spotted FBI Agent briefly on balcony. <a href="https://t.co/KrUb0yL6uk">pic.twitter.com/KrUb0yL6uk</a>
— Dan Noyes (@dannoyes) <a href="https://twitter.com/dannoyes/status/1803830569404387464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 20, 2024</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
FBI NOW CLEAR FROM OAKLAND MAYOR SHENG THAO’S HOUSE. Good law-enforcement source tells me this is a public corruption investigation of Thao and her boyfriend. <a href="https://t.co/LnQbrs3NPp">pic.twitter.com/LnQbrs3NPp</a>
— Dan Noyes (@dannoyes) <a href="https://twitter.com/dannoyes/status/1803838434341196162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 20, 2024</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Coincidence — as I’m leaving Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s house after the FBI raid, I saw this truck from California Waste Solutions nearby. We also saw FBI at that company’s offices, and at Andy Duong’s home, whose family owns Cal Waste. You may recall that Duong funded Thao’s… <a href="https://t.co/ffJWUfEPea">pic.twitter.com/ffJWUfEPea</a>
— Dan Noyes (@dannoyes) <a href="https://twitter.com/dannoyes/status/1803859495275368599?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 20, 2024</a></blockquote>
The news comes as multiple Democrats have found themselves caught up in federal criminal investigations in recent months, including Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), and Hunter Biden. Federal law enforcement officials have also seized devices from New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) and raided properties tied to George Soros-backed District Attorney Jody Owens.

California Governor Gavin Newsom Stumps For Ballot Measure To Remove Prop 8 From State Constitution

FBI Raids Home Of Far-Left Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao

Oakland, a blue city in California, took down a traffic light at a busy intersection after thieves kept swiping copper wire, and residents say the nearby homeless encampment is to blame.
City workers replaced the traffic lights with four-way stop signs at the intersection located at East 12th Street and 16th Avenue.
The move came after people repeatedly stole copper wire and tampered with the electrical box at the intersection to allegedly steal power.
The city tried putting heavy cement blocks on top of the electrical boxes, but people simply dragged them out of the way, a city spokesman <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/stop-signs-replace-some-oakland-traffic-lights-to-deter-copper-theft/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. The stop signs are temporary, according to the city, but it does not have a timeline for reinstalling the traffic lights.
Neighbors expressed their frustration, and some blamed the homeless encampment around the intersection. The encampment spans about three blocks on 12th Street from 17th and 14th Avenues.
&#8220;If you really want to fix the stop sign, I think you really have to clean up this homeless encampment,&#8221; Tam Le, owner of Le&#8217;s Auto Body &amp; Engine Repair, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/stop-signs-replace-some-oakland-traffic-lights-to-deter-copper-theft/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> CBS San Francisco. He has been running his auto shop on a corner of the intersection for more than 25 years.
&#8220;It&#8217;s just telling us that the city is giving up on us,&#8221; Le said.
The traffic lights had not worked properly for months before they were taken down, residents said.
&#8220;The city did try to fix the traffic light at least a few times. But once they fixed it, normally within a week or so, it will go out again,&#8221; Le said.
Violent crime is up overall in Oakland compared to this time last year, <a href="https://cityofoakland2.app.box.com/s/sjiq7usfy27gy9dfe51hp8arz5l1ixad/file/1509820938476" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the latest police data. Robberies, in particular, have spiked, topping 1,000 incidents already this year.
Robberies involving a gun are up 21% to 409 incidents, and carjackings are up 4% to 166 incidents. Aggravated assaults are down but remain high at more than 900 incidents. Homicides are also down, but 23 people have already been killed this year.
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Oakland residents have been sounding off about rising crime for at least a year.
Last May, about 500 angry residents <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hundreds-of-angry-oakland-residents-show-up-at-town-hall-on-crime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showed</a> up to a town hall meeting on crime to demand answers from city leaders on Oakland becoming more dangerous, especially violent incidents perpetrated on women and the elderly.
In July, the Oakland chapter of the NAACP <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oakland-naacp-blasts-city-leaders-over-crime-calls-for-state-of-emergency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blasted</a> city leaders and called for a state of emergency over the city’s crime “crisis.” The black civil rights organization, which <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/lets-stop-pretending-naacp-is-more-than-weaponized-left-wing-propaganda-machine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tends</a> to lean Left, blamed the “defund the police” movement specifically as part of the reason for the crime spike.
In nearby San Francisco, the worsening trifecta of crime, homelessness, and public drug use has caused many businesses to abandon the city’s once bustling downtown area. This has left many commercial buildings empty and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/amid-homeless-and-drug-crises-san-franciscos-budget-deficit-could-reach-1-4-billion-officials-warn#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cut into</a> the city’s tax revenue, exacerbating the city’s growing budget deficit, which officials warned could reach nearly $1.4 billion by 2027.

a city crossing with a semaphore, red light in semaphore

Blue City Took Down Traffic Light At Busy Intersection After Homeless Stole Copper Wire, Residents Say

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As crime runs rampant in the Bay Area, an Oakland, California, jewelry store that has been in business for 40 years was <a href="https://abc7news.com/exclusive-armed-suspects-clear-out-phuong-jewelry-in-oakland-chinatown/14649607/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">robbed</a> of 85-90% of its inventory when eight thieves brandishing weapons and accompanied by two getaway cars hit the store Wednesday afternoon.
The Trinh family, which owns Phuong Jewelry in Oakland&#8217;s Chinatown Wednesday, had let their business insurance lapse because premiums had risen. Video showed the eight thieves shattering every case as they ravaged the store.
Diane Trinh, 69, hid and yelled for help as no security guard was on duty; her 76-year-old husband burst in with a firearm, prompting the thieves to flee.
&#8220;If he hadn&#8217;t done that they would have kept going,” the Trinhs&#8217; son Tony, the executive director of the Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council, said. “We&#8217;ve been robbed a few times before but not at this level of brazen magnitude. Eight individuals and two getaway cars and guns drawn. I thought, did my mother get shot? Did my father get shot? Did any of our staff of community members?”
“My mom was devastated and my dad was broken,” Tony said. “It&#8217;s rough, my mom is the leader of the pack — when she suffers I suffer the same thing from her.”
Yet Tony steadfastly believes the neighborhood can improve. “I&#8217;ve seen tremendous progress even though it doesn&#8217;t feel like that. In terms of cleaning and safety, there are a lot more out there ambassadors &#8211; we have walking officers &#8211; during the pandemic we didn&#8217;t,” he said. “We can&#8217;t let our fear overcome! The only way to reduce crime is to have more traffic, events, people to get more resources. A strong Oakland Chinatown is strong for every community in Oakland.”
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
8 armed suspects ransacked the legacy Oakland Chinatown business Phuong Jewelry yesterday at around 12:30. 
The family tells me, in less than one minute 85-90% of their inventory was taken. 
Watch as owner Diane runs to the back &amp; gets her year old husband. He storms out with a… <a href="https://t.co/pvsiiUeoiz">pic.twitter.com/pvsiiUeoiz</a>
&mdash; Dion Lim (@DionLimTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/DionLimTV/status/1778654769827258489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council initiated a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/please-help-phuong-jewelry-rebuild?utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet-tip&amp;utm_content=share_ai_integrated&amp;utm_medium=copy_link&amp;utm_source=customer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GoFundMe site</a> to help the Trinh family.
Violent crime and other felonies <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/06/business/oakland-crime-business/index.html#:~:text=Robberies%20grew%2038%25%20last%20year,a%20San%20Francisco%20Chronicle%20analysis." target="_blank" rel="noopener">rose</a> in Oakland last year; robberies increased 38%; burglaries increased 23%. “15,000 cars were reported stolen last year — the highest number in the city in at least 15 years,” the San Francisco Chronicle <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/oakland-police-car-break-ins-19362026.php">reported</a>. In San Francisco, robberies and motor vehicle theft <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/crime-2023-trends-san-francisco-18585737.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increased</a> in 2023.

Elegant jewelry set. Jewellery set with gemstones. Jewelry accessories collage. Product still life concept. Ring, necklace and earrings.

8 Armed Robbers Smash Family-Owned Oakland Jewelry Store, Loot 90% Of Inventory, Owners Say

The only Denny&#8217;s diner in Oakland, California, has shut down after 54 years due to rising crime, the company said this week.
The location at 601 Hegenberg Road in Oakland is now closed permanently, the company said in a memo shared with news outlets.
&#8220;Closing a restaurant location is never an easy decision or one taken lightly,&#8221; the memo said. &#8220;However, the safety and well-being of Denny&#8217;s team members and valued guests is our top priority. Weighing those factors, the decision has been made to close this location.&#8221;
Staffers who worked at the Oakland location will be offered positions at other locations where they are available.
&#8220;Denny&#8217;s offers its heartfelt thanks to the team members and the local community for their love of the Denny&#8217;s brand; it has been a pleasure serving you,&#8221; Denny&#8217;s said.
It is the first time in Denny&#8217;s 75 years that the diner chain has been forced to close one of its restaurants.
The decision comes after West Coast burger chain In-N-Out recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/in-n-out-burger-to-close-its-only-location-in-oakland-due-to-crime">announced</a> it would close its Oakland location in March, also due to rising crime.
In May, hundreds of angry residents of the liberal city showed up to a town hall meeting on crime, describing brutal incidents of criminals assaulting women and older people, sometimes in previously safe neighborhoods.
In July, the Oakland chapter of the NAACP <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oakland-naacp-blasts-city-leaders-over-crime-calls-for-state-of-emergency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blasted</a> city leaders and called for a state of emergency over the city’s crime “crisis.” The black civil rights organization, which <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/lets-stop-pretending-naacp-is-more-than-weaponized-left-wing-propaganda-machine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tends</a> to lean Left, blamed the “defund the police” movement specifically as part of the reason for the crime spike.
Murders and robberies are all up in Oakland so far this year, <a href="https://cityofoakland2.app.box.com/s/sjiq7usfy27gy9dfe51hp8arz5l1ixad/file/1428751996571" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to police data. Homicides are up to nine murders so far this year, compared to eight last year. Robberies are up 32% to more than 280 robberies.
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However, some bright spots in the city&#8217;s crime statistics include a 30% drop in aggravated assaults to 165 assaults, and car thefts are down 60% to under 450 thefts so far.
Other Bay Area cities have struggled with rising crime as well.
San Francisco&#8217;s worsening trifecta of crime, homelessness, and public drug use has caused many businesses to abandon the city&#8217;s once bustling downtown area. This has left many commercial buildings empty and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/amid-homeless-and-drug-crises-san-franciscos-budget-deficit-could-reach-1-4-billion-officials-warn#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cut into</a> the city&#8217;s tax revenue, exacerbating the city&#8217;s growing budget deficit, which city officials warned could reach nearly $1.4 billion by 2027.
Denny&#8217;s still has two other Bay Area locations in Emeryville and Hayward.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/in-n-out-burger-to-close-its-only-location-in-oakland-due-to-crime">In-N-Out Burger To Close Its Only Location In Oakland Due To Crime</a>

Denny’s Restaurant Chain Reports Quarterly Earnings

Denny’s Closes Only Oakland Location After More Than 54 Years Over Crime

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