Gavin Newsom’s recent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was not mere political theater — it was a reckless sermon that explicitly painted federal immigration agents as a sinister “private domestic army” and mocked them for taking basic safety precautions. He taunted ICE agents on national television, asking “What are you afraid of?” while describing masked, unmarked federal officers as fodder for alarm and distrust. For a man who aspires to national office, that kind of dehumanizing rhetoric is dangerous and irresponsible.
Worse still, Newsom doubled down at the statehouse by signing California’s No Secret Police Act, a law that limits the ability of federal officers to conceal their identities during operations — a move he framed as defending communities from “secret police.” He and his allies happily posture as champions of transparency, all while ignoring the very real reasons federal officers sometimes mask up: protecting their families and critical operations in the face of violent criminal networks. This is performative virtue signaling that puts officers at greater risk and ties the hands of those who enforce our laws.
Within days, a sniper opened fire on an ICE field office in Dallas, killing one detainee and critically wounding others, while leaving behind unspent shell casings marked “ANTI-ICE.” Authorities have identified the shooter and are investigating a political motive, with multiple reputable outlets reporting the chilling evidence discovered at the scene. Whether or not one agrees with immigration policy, attacks like this prove what happens when anti-law-enforcement demonization becomes mainstream.
Federal investigators warned the attack appeared politically motivated, and the FBI publicly shared images and statements pointing to anti-ICE messages recovered at the scene. Homeland Security officials have also blasted the rhetorical atmosphere and implored state leaders to stop inciting hatred toward federal officers who are doing their jobs. If left-wing leaders treat ICE like an enemy army, they must bear responsibility when that rhetoric is echoed by violent actors. Political speech has consequences; this is not an abstract point, it’s deadly real.
Newsom’s posture is breathtakingly hypocritical: he signs laws that hamstring federal protective measures even as assaults on ICE personnel have surged, and then publicly taunts those same officers when they express concerns for their safety. The Department of Homeland Security warned that demonization has coincided with a dramatic increase in assaults and doxxing of agents — facts Newsom and his allies cannot credibly dismiss. Californians deserve leaders who protect communities and the men and women who put their lives on the line, not demagogues who stoke division for headlines.
The media circus that amplified Newsom’s lines on late-night television also bears blame for normalizing the rhetoric that feeds fringe violence. Conservative commentators and lawmakers are right to call out the reckless language and demand accountability; this isn’t about silencing dissent, it’s about stopping the reckless escalation that endangers innocent people and public servants. We should all be able to criticize policy without promoting the violent targeting of the people tasked with enforcing it.
Americans who believe in law, order, and common-sense patriotism must call this out for what it is: political grandstanding that risks American lives. Governors and national pundits who stoke hatred for federal officers should be held politically and morally accountable when their words contribute to a climate of terror. Stand with the brave men and women who enforce our laws, demand responsible rhetoric from our leaders, and insist on policies that protect both communities and the rule of law.
