SACRAMENTO, California – June 12, 2025 – As Los Angeles teeters on the brink, overrun by violent protests, Governor Gavin Newsom stands exposed, not as a leader, but as an obstructionist. With nearly 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 U.S. Marines deployed by the federal government to quell the chaos, Newsom has audaciously refused to cooperate, choosing political grandstanding over the safety of American citizens. His inexplicable inaction reeks of a nefarious agenda, leaving a trail of destruction and raising chilling questions about what — or who — truly benefits from Los Angeles’s descent into lawlessness.

Leadership in Crisis, Absent in Action

When ICE agents were besieged in Los Angeles during the June 7–8 weekend, Governor Newsom's silence was deafening. There was no proactive collaboration with federal agencies, no unified plan to prevent the unfolding catastrophe. Instead, he waited for the cameras, then launched into a tirade, venomously denouncing the federal deployment as "illegal," "immoral," "unconstitutional," and even accusing the President of "authoritarianism." While Newsom spouted empty rhetoric, Los Angeles burned, and its citizens lived in terror.

The Department of Justice rightly slammed Newsom’s federal lawsuit as a "crass political stunt endangering American lives." Now, a federal judge is forced to arbitrate whether the Governor’s after-the-fact objections can override the President's clear authority to protect federal interests. This is not governance; it is a dereliction of duty.

A State Under Siege, Not Defense

The deployment of federal forces in Los Angeles was not an overreaction; it was a desperate necessity. Riots, widespread destruction, rampant fires, and pitched street confrontations had overwhelmed local law enforcement. Yet, from the Governor’s office, there was no visible contingency plan – no coordination with the National Guard, no safety net for terrorized communities. His preposterous claim that the unrest was mere "civil protests"—while federal lawyers rightly labeled it a "rebellion"—is a direct insult to the over one hundred arrested and the countless citizens whose lives have been upended by escalating chaos.

Newsom’s void of proactive leadership has left communities feeling abandoned and criminal behavior unchecked. This is not a failure of policy; it is a failure of will.

Is Money the Malignancy Beneath the Silence? Should voters demand an audit of the governor's finances?

The most damning question now echoes across California: Is money the insidious motive behind Newsom’s shocking inertia?

Consider this: In February, his executive order to fast-track wildfire relief conveniently shielded ethics disclosures on substantial payments and conflicts of interest – precisely as billions in aid began to flood into Los Angeles County. Months later, alleged sanctuary safe-havens for trafficking networks are under intense scrutiny, with lawmakers openly probing money-laundering channels funneling through California’s vast immigrant support infrastructure.

Is it a stretch to infer hush-money exchanges – wealthy donors, sanctuary-industry grants, and executive clemency – as political payoffs? Not when watchdogs have consistently raised alarms about "behested payment" laxity, timed exactly to this moment when Newsom refuses to hold anyone accountable. The stench of corruption hangs heavy in the air.

Contributor Janice Hollis