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.

The looters “are deliberate as to what they are doing,” Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes told the Washington Examiner. “In my opinion, it is happening because they believe they can do it and not be held accountable. [When] the declarative emergency is lifted, it will go back to the normal bail schedule throughout the state.”

Last month, Newsom extended his state of emergency order until March 2022, which would retain his grip on hundreds of laws for a full two years. Two bills have been introduced to curb Newsom’s emergency power and place it with the Legislature, but both died in committee.