Newsom’s endless COVID mandates spawned California’s looting crime wave, officials say

California’s smash-and-grab robbery nightmare is directly tied to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s continuing state of emergency declarations, according to the Orange County sheriff.

The California Judicial Council imposed a zero-bail system in response to Newsom’s March 2020 executive order that imposed a yearlong lockdown, which became the most stringent in the nation. A chain reaction ensued, pushed along by district attorneys in the two hardest-hit cities, San Francisco and Los Angeles, who have refused to file stiff charges. The prosecutors are emboldened by support from Newsom, the Legislature, and local politicians, critics say....