President Trump is demanding that those who burned American flags during the violent unrest in Los Angeles be sentenced to at least a year in jail—and raised the possibility that California Governor Gavin Newsom could face criminal charges for his handling of the crisis.
In the debut episode of Miranda Devine’s new podcast, Pod Force One, Trump said any protester caught torching the Stars and Stripes should face automatic jail time. The podcast is set to feature influential political figures each week.
“I happen to think if you burn an American flag — because they were burning a lot of flags in Los Angeles — I think you go to jail for one year,” he said. “Just automatic.”
When asked whether he still supported legal consequences for Newsom over the governor’s past obstruction of ICE operations in Los Angeles, Trump responded sharply. “Well, he’s not doing a good job.”
“In theory, you could” pursue charges, Trump added. “It’s almost like a dissipation of duty. Nobody’s ever seen anything like that.”
Trump recalled a late-night phone conversation with Newsom on the first evening of the rioting, during which he offered assistance through the National Guard.
“It was late at night,” the president recalled. “I said, ‘You know, your city’s burning down. Your state is in bad trouble’ … He said it was a set-up.”
“All I want him to do is do a good job,” Trump continued. “I’d rather have him do a good job than a bad job, even though politically, I guess, you could take the other extreme. He’s doing a poor job.”
Trump has long pushed for harsh penalties for those who desecrate the American flag, and previously endorsed legislation to enshrine such penalties in the Constitution.
Legal scholars, including the late Justice Antonin Scalia, have maintained that flag burning is a form of free speech protected by the First Amendment.
Tom Homan, Trump’s immigration enforcement chief, also took aim at Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, accusing them of obstructing ICE agents during the recent sweep targeting illegal immigrants in the city.
“You cross that line, it’s a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien,” Homan told NBC News. “It’s a felony to impede law enforcement doing their job.”
In a follow-up interview, Homan walked back his remarks slightly, telling the network his statements had been misconstrued and that he “never threatened to arrest Governor Newsom.”
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the recent operation led to 118 arrests of undocumented immigrants, including several gang members and individuals with records for drug offenses, assault, robbery, and domestic abuse.
On Friday, more than a thousand protesters stormed a federal building in Los Angeles, clashing violently with ICE officers. Multiple agents were assaulted, government vehicles were vandalized, and property was destroyed. DHS officials said LAPD officers failed to intervene for nearly two hours.
In response, Trump activated 2,000 National Guard troops to restore order, later doubling that number and authorizing the deployment of 700 Marines to safeguard federal facilities.
“If we didn’t do the job, that place would be burning down,” Trump told reporters Monday. “I watched Minneapolis burn [in 2020]… There’s so many different places where we let it burn. We wanted to be politically correct … I think Gavin, in his own way, is probably happy I got involved.”
The ongoing riots have featured demonstrators setting cars ablaze, waving foreign flags in defiance of law enforcement, looting businesses, and pelting officers with rocks.
In response to Trump’s actions, the Newsom administration filed a federal lawsuit Monday, claiming that Trump overstepped his authority and violated California’s rights under the Tenth Amendment by taking control of the state’s National Guard.
Newsom also fired back at Homan during an NBC News appearance Sunday night, challenging him directly: “Come after me. Arrest me. Let’s just get it over with, tough guy.”
{Matzav.com}