Democratic lawmakers packed into a news conference on Monday with signs reading “ICE out now” and “California Stands with Minnesota” and called on the state’s Republicans for support.<\/p>\n
California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Monterey, led the packed room of Democratic lawmakers.<\/p>\n
“It seems like our very right to life is under attack,” Rivas said. “And to every California Republican, I have this message: We need you to speak out. You cannot watch these videos coming out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and think that this is acceptable.”<\/p>\n
They also called for funding cuts to ICE in response to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents.<\/p>\n
California Republican Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, calls the killing tragic, but also calls out Democrats for rhetoric he says is creating a hostile environment.<\/p>\n
“When I watch that video, it looks terrible to me, absolutely,” Gallagher said. “To then paint all of ICE and Homeland Security and Border Patrol with a broad brush is wrong, and it’s a dangerous narrative.”<\/p>\n
President Trump’s FBI director, Kash Patel, suggested\u00a0on Fox News<\/a>\u00a0that Pretti was breaking the law by carrying a legally-permitted firearm to a protest; meanwhile,\u00a0Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem<\/a>\u00a0have called Pretti a “domestic terrorist.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Kostas Moros, director of research for the Second Amendment Foundation, and other Second Amendment advocates have been pushing back on that.\u00a0<\/p>\n “It’s nonsense,” Moros said. “These statements, they were calling him a ‘terrorist,’ an ‘assassin,’ unless I see something, I see some incredible evidence to the contrary, so far there is nothing to justify that.”<\/p>\n California Democratic lawmakers have already banned federal agents from wearing masks starting this year. A new bill would allow Californians to sue federal officers for violating civil rights.\u00a0<\/p>\n Governor Gavin Newsom is also re-launching a new “federal agent misconduct” web portal, allowing Californians to submit claims and upload their own videos. That portal went live last month.\u00a0<\/p>\n So far, neither the Governor’s office nor the Attorney General has said how many claims have been submitted.<\/p>\n