Liberal media calls out MAGA influencers instead of Charlotte stabber



A disturbing video of the murder of a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, Iryna Zarutska, has been making the rounds on social media — leaving citizens frustrated that crime is so out of control in America.

However, the mainstream media doesn’t view the attack the same way.

“Let me tell you the angle that the mainstream media took. It wasn’t, ‘Horrible criminal who should have been behind bars murders innocent woman in Charlotte, North Carolina.’ It wasn’t that,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales says.

Rather, publications like Axios have chosen to write headlines like, “Stabbing video fuels MAGA’s crime message.”


“Yep, it’s those pesky MAGA Republicans once again. Those MAGA influencers. It might as well have said, ‘MAGA pounces on stabbing video to fuel their crime message.’ Like, make this make sense. So, in the article, the problem is not that we have crazy psycho murderers roaming the streets,” Gonzales says.

“The problem is just MAGA influencers are drawing repeated attention to elevate the issue of urban crime and accuse mainstream media of uncovering shocking cases,” she continues, noting that it gets worse.

“You only thought that that was the bottom. I haven’t hit the bottom yet. There is no bottom typically when it comes to these people, these despicable mainstream media hacks. ... It’s not just that they say that MAGA is elevating the issue of urban crime. It’s not that urban crime is elevating itself because it’s happening too frequently. That’s not it,” she explains.

“The problem is security cameras,” she says, shocked.

The Axios article reads, “The rising number of surveillance cameras in public spaces, including on Charlotte’s light rail, has become a big accelerant in these cases.”

“The video is easily shared or leaked, and can instantly pollinate across social media — a visual counterpoint to statistics showing crime decreases,” a bullet under the article’s previous point reads.

“So, the problem really is that surveillance cameras exist, and we shouldn’t have surveillance cameras because then ... if a tree falls in the woods and nobody hears it, does it actually happen?” Gonzales mocks.

“Or is the problem you for deciding that we should have things like law and order in this country? Is the problem you for expecting too much, average citizen, who doesn’t like all of this crime happening around them?” she continues. “Maybe the problem is you. Certainly not the murderer, according to Axios.”

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From Mayberry to mayhem: The new face of Texas suburbs



A few days ago, a high school sophomore in Frisco, Texas, was stabbed while walking his dog. Thankfully the wound wasn’t fatal, and doctors expect him to recover quickly. Unfortunately, the assailant ran away and remains at large.

On its own, this incident might seem like a minor local crime. But the context makes it impossible to dismiss. If the story sounds familiar, that’s because another Frisco high schooler, Austin Metcalf, was stabbed to death just months ago by fellow student Karmelo Anthony, an attack that ignited a national scandal.

The Austin Metcalf stabbing should have been a wake-up call. The latest stabbing is another warning.

Now it’s happened again. And once again, the details being withheld tell us almost as much as the details that make print. Local news outlets have carefully avoided naming or describing the attacker.

In today’s media environment, that omission most likely means the suspect is a young black man. This fits the larger pattern: When a violent criminal is white, his race leads every headline. When he belongs to a “protected” group, reporters bury the fact or omit it entirely.

Double standards breed division

Progressives claim this kind of censorship promotes civic harmony. In reality, it deepens mistrust and resentment. Citizens notice the double standard. They conclude that certain groups face no real accountability, while others are scrutinized and vilified. What grows out of that perception isn’t harmony — it’s more division, more resentment, and more dysfunction.

When ordinary people can’t get the facts, they’re left chasing phantoms — scanning middle schools for “radicalized” white kids because that’s what the media tells them to fear. Meanwhile, the far more common culprits keep wreaking havoc with little pushback.

Suburban illusions collapse

Suburbs like Frisco are uniquely vulnerable. For most of its history, Frisco was insulated from big-city crime. That isolation allowed residents to cultivate what writer Rob Henderson calls “luxury beliefs” — progressive slogans and ideals that sound noble when crime feels remote, but collapse the moment violence arrives on your own street.

Confronted with the reality of a young black male’s role in a stabbing at the park or a brawl in the school hallway, many residents simply prefer to deny or ignore the facts of the matter. They downplay what happened or cover it up so they can keep pretending their suburb remains as safe as it always was.

The problem is that denial doesn’t work. It seeps into institutions. Instead of suspending, expelling, or even jailing dangerous offenders, school districts now embrace “restorative justice.” That means therapy sessions, dialogue circles, and endless second chances. Predictably, violent students stay in class, disrupt learning, and in the worst cases attack their peers.

This weak approach produces young men who never face consequences. They grow up with low expectations, no skills, no self-control, and plenty of resentment. Eventually they end up roaming the streets, harassing strangers, and preying on the weak. Ordinary families, once told that all this would promote “civic harmony,” now cross the street or lock their doors when they see these young men coming.

Frisco isn’t Mayberry anymore

What’s happening in Frisco is happening across Texas. Suburbs once imagined as quiet havens have become crowded, diverse cities in their own right. Migration from blue states, foreign immigration, subsidized housing, and zoning changes have accelerated the transformation.

RELATED:The stabbing in Frisco was a tragedy everyone saw coming

Photo by schirmat via Getty Images

That doesn’t have to be a bad thing — but only if leaders face the new reality. Too many still cling to the illusion that Frisco is a charming, homogeneous refuge for upper-middle-class families. That era is gone. Frisco today has heavy traffic, a diverse population, and rising crime. Pretending otherwise is not an option.

The price of denial

If Frisco wants to survive and thrive, it needs leaders willing to tell the truth. That means dropping the “luxury beliefs” and embracing real accountability. It means removing violent kids from classrooms, enforcing laws against vagrancy and harassment, and raising the bar for behavior in public spaces.

Yes, some kids will end up in the so-called school-to-prison pipeline. Yes, some groups will show up in crime statistics more than others. But equal enforcement of the law is the only fair system. Lowering standards to avoid “disproportionality” is not compassion — it’s sabotage.

If the city refuses to act, it will suffer the same fate as America’s hollowed-out urban cores: neighbors who no longer trust one another, ethnic groups retreating into separate enclaves, and public spaces dominated by thugs who drive law-abiding families away. Once that spiral begins, families who can afford to leave will move — to Arkansas, Oklahoma, or anywhere else they can find safety and space.

Frisco still has time. It remains prosperous, attractive, and full of promise. But that won’t last if residents continue looking the other way. The Austin Metcalf stabbing should have been a wake-up call. The latest stabbing is another warning.

The longer this community clings to denial, the worse the problem will grow — and the harder it will be to fix.

No perp walks, no peace



Mexico. Washington, D.C. Minneapolis. Three places, one message: what our enemies believe and how we must respond if we don’t want to become their chattel.

Start with Mexico. President Claudia Sheinbaum openly prefers her own citizens — the so-called salt-of-the-earth workers — to remain north of the Rio Grande rather than return home. Mexico is so badly broken that demanding the right to export its people into a country that increasingly resents the burden has become a viable political position.

The angry young men Trump just won over demand accountability. Without it, no economic boom, no culture war victory, no campaign slogan will hold them.

Now move to Washington, D.C. How broken do you have to be to protest against safer streets? President Donald Trump has vowed to bring order to the nation’s capital, yet Democrats bristle at the one federal action they’ve apparently never wanted to seize for themselves. For decades they told us D.C. deserved statehood. Now that Trump is taking responsibility for law and order, suddenly they retreat.

The irony runs deeper. Mexico refuses to take back its “working class,” while Democrats refuse to federalize D.C. policing. The one time they might welcome federal control, they balk — because Trump is the guy enforcing it.

D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith even admitted she doesn’t understand what “chain of command” means. This is the same woman who served as the department’s chief equity officer before becoming chief. If she can’t figure out who’s in charge, how can anyone else? This is what happens when the left prizes ideology over competence. Throw away your Bibles and your Constitution, kids — we’re going for a ride!

Next stop: Minneapolis. Mayoral candidate Omar Fateh campaigns openly for a Marxist revolution, joining voices like New York’s Zohran Mamdani. They no longer bother to hide their intent. They say the quiet part loud: They want a world where you live under chains.

A decade ago, such a platform would have been a political death wish. Suggesting Democrats were headed down that road would have branded you a “conspiracy theorist.” Today, Democrats think they can win elections on it.

So here’s the pattern: Mexico won’t take back its own “industrious” citizens. Washington, D.C., Democrats prefer their largely black constituency to live under siege by criminals rather than accept Trump’s help. And in Minneapolis, a leading candidate runs on a platform of putting Somalia first.

RELATED:Stop calling Zohran Mamdani a communist — he’s something worse

Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

We tell ourselves we can laugh this off as fringe madness — as long as it’s not in our back yard. But that’s denial. The threat is real, and it’s aimed at our children, if we last that long. This is invasion by increments: more foreigners, more crime, more leaders pretending they don’t know what a chain of command is. Like drums in the deep, the orcs are coming.

What should we do? Whether foreign enemies or domestic ones, whether illegal aliens or corrupt bureaucrats, the answer is the same.

Arrests.

The angry young men Trump just won over demand accountability. Without it, no economic boom, no culture war victory, no campaign slogan will hold them. Fail here and Republicans risk losing the House, neutering Trump’s presidency, and unleashing the very invasion already being planned.

Those who shrug at the chain of command will happily discard the Declaration of Independence next. They will crush the laws of nature and nature’s God. They will trample the Creator’s endowments under a mob now warming up and waiting in the wings.

There must be consequences. There must be arrests.

Trump to DC: Crime is a choice



President Trump announced Monday that he will federalize control of law enforcement in Washington, D.C. The move follows his threat to act after a brutal attack on a DOGE staffer who tried to defend a woman during a carjacking. National Guard troops will supplement D.C. Metro Police in an effort to quell violent crime. Americans are tired of excuses for why their cities feel dirty and unsafe when we already know how to fix them. Crime is a policy choice, and Trump has taken decisive action with a promise to restore law and order to the nation’s capital.

The United States is the most powerful nation on earth, and Washington is its imperial capital. History shows the state of the capital often mirrors the health of the civilization. The comparison is not flattering. In Japan or Singapore, a woman can walk alone at night without fear. In Washington, ordinary people are routinely harassed, assaulted, and robbed. Everyone knows why this disparity exists and how to solve it, but political correctness has made the truth unspeakable.

To succeed, Trump must ignore the inevitable accusations of racism and authoritarianism and focus on results.

Ideally, crime declines when a virtuous population maintains strong cultural norms and self-control. When virtue isn’t enough, the state must deliver swift and certain justice. If laws go unenforced, honest people quickly learn they are fools for obeying them, while marginal characters drift toward crime. Arrests must be followed by real penalties. As Rudy Giuliani proved in New York with broken-windows policing, consistent enforcement of even minor laws dismantles a culture of permissibility and encourages respect for the rules.

If we know regular enforcement and strong penalties work, why do Democrats choose the opposite in the cities they run?

Their answer always returns to racism. Crime data shows black Americans commit a disproportionate share of crime. Enforcing the law honestly will result in more black arrests and incarcerations. Neither Democrats nor most Republicans will discuss this fact or ask the black community to confront it. Instead, they declare the system racist by design.

Once the system is branded racist, “criminal justice reform” becomes the only solution. Because the underlying causes go unaddressed, disparities persist. To make the system look less racist, enforcement is scaled back. Heather Mac Donald calls this the “Ferguson effect”: Police who fear becoming national pariahs simply stop policing black neighborhoods. Law enforcement retreats from the areas where crime is highest. Officers are told to overlook minor crimes to lower minority arrest rates. Prosecutors cut deals, and early release programs proliferate to improve incarceration statistics. This is exactly the formula for more crime and less safety.

As a former crime reporter, I’ve had candid conversations with officers about this. Police know where most crime happens and who commits it, but politics make addressing it a nightmare. Officers say they sometimes ignore domestic violence or burglary calls in certain neighborhoods. They want to go home to their families, not become nationally infamous for answering the “wrong” call. The number of incarcerated black Americans may fall, but deaths from traffic accidents to homicides rise. Policies enacted “for” the black community make life more dangerous for them — and for everyone else.

RELATED: DC’s crime problem is much worse than you think

When asked about the chain of command under Trump’s initiative, D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith, a black woman, replied, “What does that mean?” Not reassuring. It suggests that in many cities, police chiefs are chosen less for competence than for their DEI value to activists. If the officials charged with maintaining public order under the dictates of gay race communism cannot grasp basic law enforcement concepts, they will fail.

Trump has taken on a complicated challenge. Restoring order may be straightforward in theory, but the politics are treacherous. To succeed, he must ignore the inevitable accusations of racism and authoritarianism and focus on results. In an era when most politicians flee responsibility, Trump is embracing it. If he succeeds, he will restore safety and dignity to the capital and create a model that could shame other cities into action.

Some compare Trump’s move to Nayib Bukele’s crackdown in El Salvador. The most important lesson from that comparison is that success speaks for itself. If Trump’s takeover produces a radically safer capital, Americans will demand the same in their own cities.

DC’s crime problem is much worse than you think



After building a reputation for cutting federal jobs in Washington, D.C., the Department of Government Efficiency is now tied to an expansion of federal authority.

President Trump announced Monday he would take over Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department and deploy the National Guard — an unprecedented move that came less than a week after photos of a shirtless, bloodied 19-year-old former DOGE employee went viral. The president declared August 11 “Liberation Day” and vowed to end violent crime and homeless encampments in the nation’s capital.

Our nation’s capital should project security and order to the nation and the world. It must be made safe again.

Trump’s detractors immediately pointed out that violent crime, including shootings and homicides, has been falling in the district. They’re right — on paper. Violent crime is down 26% this year, according to the city’s own numbers. But those figures are under scrutiny after accusations that officials manipulated the data.

Homicides, which are harder to fudge, are down 12%: 99 killings through August 11 compared to 112 during the same period in 2024.

Numbers alone, however, can’t capture the lived reality. Having spent the last year of my 15-year career in D.C. at the city’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention, I spoke with residents desperate for change. One man told me he and his pregnant wife dove to the floor when a bullet smashed through their window. Another woman worked with neighbors to demand more police patrols. Their frustrations highlight the fact that crime isn’t just a local issue but a hyperlocal one.

One activist I met has kept a memorial wall for homicide victims in his apartment since the 1990s. Some of the kids he mentored, he said, cherished the photos and videos because they were the only images they had of their fathers. In D.C., more than 60% of murders happen in just two of the city’s eight wards — far from tourist landmarks and high-end retail stores. Last August, a Democrat council member from one of those neighborhoods called for the National Guard himself after a wave of shootings.

Yet, those communities — overwhelmingly poor and black — rarely drive the political conversation about crime. Conservatives, like progressives, focus on the violence and vagrancy near their offices, homes, and favorite restaurants. That’s not a criticism; it’s human nature.

Everyone wants to feel safe where they live, work, and visit. But people from places where one murder makes front-page news can’t easily grasp how easy it is to grow numb to constant violence and disorder.

RELATED: Legacy media’s bogus defense of DC’s safe-streets narrative crumbles under scrutiny

Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

The left has its own contradictions. Leftists had no problem with the FBI combing through a NASCAR garage when they thought driver Bubba Wallace had been the target of a hate crime. More than 90% of D.C.’s homicide victims are black, yet racial inequality in violent crime barely registers among self-described antiracists.

Likewise, in 2021, commentator Roland Martin demanded a federal crackdown on “white domestic terrorism.” But he didn’t explain how many murder victims in D.C., Baltimore, St. Louis, Memphis, Philadelphia, Atlanta, New Orleans, or Chicago were killed by skinheads or neo-Nazis.

Whether the federal takeover will reduce crime remains to be seen. Conservatives frustrated by the government’s inability to produce the Epstein files might be overestimating how quickly crime can be cleaned up. Real change will require coordination across every level of government.

Still, my hope is simple: that whatever is done in D.C. will make it safer for residents, workers, and visitors alike. Our capital should project security and order to the nation and the world. It must be made safe again.

Fact-check: Legacy media’s bogus defense of DC’s safe-streets narrative crumbles under scrutiny



The Democrats’ media allies are arguing that President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of Washington, D.C., was unwarranted due to sharply decreasing crime rates. However, these reports do not provide a complete and accurate picture of the crime crisis in the area.

Since February, Trump has repeatedly warned D.C. leaders, including Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), that the federal government will intervene unless the nation’s capital is cleaned up.

'Unfortunately, while Fake News journalists and politicians go out of their way to claim otherwise, the reality is that our nation’s capital is anything but safe.'

Trump declared Monday “Liberation Day” for D.C., unveiling a plan to rescue it from “bedlam and squalor.” His decision to place the Metropolitan Police under federal control and deploy National Guard troops was apparently prompted by the recent mugging of a former Department of Government Efficiency employee.

“The murder rate in Washington today is bigger than that of Bogota, Colombia; Mexico City — some of the places that you hear about as being the worst places on Earth,” he said. “Murders in 2023 reached the highest rate probably ever.”

The legacy media was quick to portray Bowser as the victim, yet during a Sunday interview with MSNBC, the mayor admitted that D.C. needs assistance.

“We do need the federal government’s help,” Bowser said, listing several ways the Trump administration could assist, including “making sure that federal law enforcement is doing all of the policing that they can do.”

RELATED: 'Knock the hell out of them': Trump federalizes DC police, readies National Guard to crack down on crime

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

While Bowser thanked several federal law enforcement agencies for their assistance, she has still maintained that D.C. is “not experiencing a spike in crime but a decrease in crime.”

Many legacy media reports attempted to debunk Trump’s claims about high crime rates by referring to statistics from the Metropolitan Police Department. However, they failed to mention that the D.C. Police Union has long accused the MPD of manipulating its crime data to appear lower. MPD Police Commander Michael Pulliam was reportedly placed on paid administrative leave in May following the union’s allegations.

Gregg Pemberton, the chairman of the D.C. Police Union, explained how the MPD was allegedly altering the data. He stated that some of the department’s lieutenants and captains were instructing officers to file reports for lesser offenses.

“Instead of taking a report for a shooting or a stabbing or a carjacking, they will order that officer to take a report for a theft or an injured person to the hospital or a felony assault, which is not the same type of classification,” Pemberton told WRC-TV.

He alleged that crimes that should be reported as involving a suspect armed with a dangerous weapon have instead been documented as felony assaults. He noted that felony assaults are not listed on the MPD’s daily crime stats, and they are not a requirement of the FBI’s uniform crime reporting program either.

Pemberton claimed that there is “absolutely no way” crime in D.C. has declined as significantly as reported by the MPD.

RELATED: DC police commander under investigation for allegedly manipulating crime stats

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

As of Tuesday afternoon, the department’s website indicated that violent crime has decreased by 26% compared to last year. The MPD reported a 35% decline in violent crime from 2023 to 2024.

Yet FBI crime data indicated that by June 2024, reported aggravated assaults reached 375, a figure not seen since before 2020.

The FBI's data revealed that homicide rates have been steadily increasing over the past decade, peaking at 33 in August 2023. Reported robberies also reached a high of 501 in July 2023. Motor vehicle thefts have significantly risen since 2015, exceeding 700 incidents for three consecutive months in 2023. The most recent data shows 425 reported thefts in December 2024, which represents a 48% increase compared to the same period in 2014.

Initial data from the FBI is based on reports from local departments. Therefore, if the MPD manipulated its crime stats, those inaccuracies would likely still be reflected in the FBI’s recent reports. Additionally, FBI crime reports do not include data from D.C. for 2021 and 2022 because the federal agency was transitioning from its older Summary Reporting System to the National Incident-Based Reporting System.

Timothy H.J. Nerozzi, a foreign correspondent for the Washington Examiner, disputed claims that D.C. is safe.

“I am the man on the ground in DC here to tell you all that any journalists claiming the crime problem is anything less than horrific is intentionally lying to you. It is omnipresent from the Metro to the city outskirts. It is obvious and unignorable,” Nerozzi wrote in a post on social media.

Blaze News senior politics editor and D.C. correspondent Christopher Bedford claimed that just six weeks ago, he was "menaced" by "a dangerous, high vagrant while eating lunch."

"I lived here 18 years before I sold my house because violence and open-air gun markets had made my once-decent neighborhood unlivable for my family. I now commute," Bedford added.

A Washington Post report attempted to partially debunk Trump’s claims, but it was brutally mocked for quoting a resident who insisted that D.C. is “a safe city” but who chose to remain anonymous “over concerns of personal safety.”

“Washington, D.C., should be a symbol of pride and patriotism for the American people — and a safe location for tourists, residents, and public servants. Unfortunately, while Fake News journalists and politicians go out of their way to claim otherwise, the reality is that our nation’s capital is anything but safe,” a White House report read.

“Many residents don’t feel safe reporting crime,” it continued. “More than half of all violent crime in the U.S. goes unreported in the first place.”

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Trump mulls unique strategy to crush DC crime wave: ‘We're thinking about it’



President Donald Trump announced during a Tuesday Cabinet meeting that he is considering a bold strategy to confront the ongoing crime crisis in Washington, D.C.

In the event that the city's current leadership fails to deliver on significant crime reduction, Trump stated that the White House might intervene.

Trump's comments were in response to a reporter's question about the New York City mayoral race and whether he would endorse any of the candidates.

'We’re thinking about doing it, to be honest with you.'

Trump described Zohran Mamdani as a “communist,” urging voters not to cast their ballots for the Democratic nominee.

“This is a man who’s not very capable, in my opinion, other than he’s got a good line of bulls**t,” Trump stated.

The president stopped short of endorsing any of the remaining candidates, including current New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.

“I’m not getting involved,” Trump remarked. “But I can tell you this, I used to say, ‘We will not ever be a socialist country.’”

“If a communist gets elected to run New York, it can never be the same. But we have tremendous power at the White House to run places when we have to,” he stated.

“We could run D.C.,” Trump continued.

RELATED: Exclusive: Vance on Mamdani: ‘Who the hell does he think that he is?’

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

He explained that the administration is currently “looking at D.C.,” citing the high crime rates.

The president noted that White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is “working very closely” with Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) to address crime, adding that the two are “doing all right.”

A year-to-date comparison from the Metropolitan Police reports that violent crimes are down 25% in 2025, with homicides down 2%, sex abuse down 47%, assault with a dangerous weapon down 22%, and robbery down 26%.

— (@)

Trump contended that if the administration took over D.C., it “would be run so proper.”

“We’re thinking about doing it, to be honest with you,” Trump said. “We want a capital that’s run flawlessly, and it wouldn’t be hard for us to do it.”

RELATED: Metropolitan Police Department refuses public access to Jan. 6 use-of-force reports

Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Trump later added that his administration has “a good relationship” with Bowser, stating, “We’re testing it to see if it works.”

He returned to discussing New York City, vowing that it would be "run properly."

"I'm going to bring New York back," he promised. "I love New York."

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Can Trump spark a seismic shift in crime-ridden blue state’s sanctuary insanity?



President Donald Trump's decisive victory in November appears to have caused a seismic shift in California's Democratic leaders' sanctuary rhetoric, clearing a path for conservative local politicians to ramp up their fight against the illegal immigration crisis.

As Americans rally behind Trump's immigration crackdown, Californians are becoming increasingly outraged by the state's existing crime surge, further worsened by sanctuary laws.

Trump and others continue to battle against those targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but Democrats like Gov. Gavin Newsom — despite his recent attempts to reinvent himself as a moderate — keep thwarting those attempts with pro-sanctuary policies.

First-of-its-kind task force

Several local leaders have seized the opportunity to right the course and address the state's illegal immigration chaos.

United States Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli announced Monday the formation of a new task force dedicated to eradicating the state's destructive sanctuary laws.

'The days of giving criminal illegal aliens a free pass are over.'

Operation Guardian Angel, a program launched May 10 alongside federal partners, aims to "neutralize California's sanctuary state policy and protect Americans from criminal illegal aliens incarcerated in county jails by issuing federal arrest warrants for them," according to a Department of Justice press release.

The task force comprises assets from multiple federal agencies, including ICE, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Border Patrol, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

RELATED: Sheriff vows to break California's sanctuary law by alerting ICE about violent illegal aliens

California Governor Gavin Newsom. Photo by ARIANA DREHSLER/AFP via Getty Images

The press release noted that Essayli's district is home to approximately 1.5 million illegal aliens, including gang members and violent felons.

As of May 15, the program has already resulted in the arrest of 13 individuals by filing complaints and arrest warrants, allowing federal authorities to seize custody of defendants in state jails. The task force scans criminal databases every day to identify illegal aliens currently detained. An arrest warrant is then issued for those who can be transferred to DOJ custody for illegal re-entry before they are released from local jails.

Essayli slammed California's sanctuary laws for releasing "even the worst criminal aliens" back onto the street.

"These laws effectively render federal immigration detainers meaningless," he stated. "The days of giving criminal illegal aliens a free pass are over. While California may be presently disregarding detainers, it cannot ignore federal arrest warrants."

Essayli said in a statement to Fox News that the state's sanctuary laws "made it almost impossible for ICE to do their job, issue detainers, and get criminal illegal immigrants out of jails."

He declared, "We're going to flood the system with warrants for criminal illegal immigration that are in county jails, they can ignore a detainer, but they cannot ignore a criminal arrest warrant."

Essayli referred to California as the "testing ground" for the groundbreaking new program that could be implemented in other sanctuary jurisdictions.

He noted that he does not expect resistance from local authorities.

"They have no choice, they will comply. And if they don't comply, if they interfere in our ability to arrest a federal felon, they can expect to face consequences for that," Essayli added to Fox.

Jessica Vaughan, the director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies, told Blaze News that federal judges' criminal arrest warrants "cannot be ignored" and "are exempt from the sanctuary policies."

While Vaughan stated that she has not seen any indication that local politicians are shifting their stance on sanctuary policies, she highlighted efforts to arrest illegal aliens who were previously deported.

"ICE has taken steps to make it easier for California law enforcement agencies, most of whom have always supported cooperation with ICE, to transfer custody of certain illegal aliens who have been arrested that ICE is seeking to remove," she explained. "I'm sure most of the sheriffs and police chiefs will be fine with this arrangement."

When reached for comment, Essayli's office referred Blaze News to the previous statement in the press release and those provided to Fox News.

Local law enforcement digs in

Some of California's local law enforcement leaders have also led the charge against the sanctuary policies.

San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez came under fire late last year when she stated that her office would not comply with the San Diego County Board's decision to pass its own sanctuary measure, in addition to the state's existing policies.

Martinez's office previously told Blaze News that it would not be "expanding or changing anything we have been doing."

"We will continue to follow state law and maintain the way we have been operating for several years. The Board Action sought to impose restrictions well beyond those already provided for in-state law regarding how local law enforcement can work with immigration officials," the sheriff's office said.

However, Martinez's office stopped short of rejecting all sanctuary policies, instead stating that the "current state law strikes the right balance between limiting local law enforcement's cooperation with immigration authorities, ensuring public safety, and building community trust."

While Martinez's office has stood behind California's sanctuary laws, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a 2026 gubernatorial candidate, has come out in full force against the state, becoming the first and only sheriff to join Huntington Beach's lawsuit against California, Newsom, and Attorney General Robert Bonta.

In January, the city council members declared Huntington Beach a "non-sanctuary city," then later filed a lawsuit claiming the state's laws "drastically limit local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement authorities, shield illegal aliens, and threaten public safety."

Bianco told the Desert Sun, "Local law enforcement has not and does not enforce immigration law."

He argued that California's sanctuary policy "was only designed to protect criminals in jail from being deported."

RELATED: The Trump effect? Newsom pledges to veto Dem bill that would expand protections for illegal aliens

Sheriff Chad Bianco of Riverside County. Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Vaughan told Blaze News that California sheriffs resisting local politicians' efforts to impose stricter sanctuary laws "should feel a bit safer doing this knowing that the Trump administration will support them."

'This is a battle that needs to be fought, both for supremacy of the federal government on immigration enforcement and for the sake of public safety.'

In response to the lawsuit, Bonta's office previously told Fox News Digital, "The Attorney General is committed to protecting and ensuring the rights of California's immigrant communities and upholding vital laws like SB 54, which ensure that state and local resources go toward fighting crime in California communities, not toward federal immigration enforcement."

"Our office successfully fought back against a challenge to SB 54 by the first Trump administration, and we are prepared to vigorously defend SB 54 again," the statement added.

Bianco's office did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

Recalls and electoral shifts

California locals' frustration with Democratic policies appeared to reach a tipping point late last year when several recall efforts successfully booted radical leftists.

In Alameda County, an area so devastated by crime that numerous businesses fled, voters removed two George Soros-backed politicians: then-Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao (D) and then-Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price (D).

A similar situation played out in Los Angeles County.

After weathering failed recall efforts, former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón suffered a blistering loss in his November re-election bid.

The progressive DA was replaced by Nathan Hochman, an Independent candidate who ran on the promise to restore safety and prioritize "protecting victims' interests."

Hochman, a former Republican, shared a post on social media on May 18 stating that "the fun is over" for illegal alien criminals.

"I am standing at the border between LA County and San Bernardino County where criminals used to enjoy crossing in the LA direction, thinking that little to no consequences would occur if they stole, robbed, and engaged in criminal conduct," he wrote.

"Times have changed!" Hochman declared. "A new DA was elected. And criminals in LA County will now be prosecuted and held fully accountable for their illegal actions."

Hochman's office did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

What's next?

While it remains uncertain whether the quieted pro-sanctuary rhetoric during Trump's second term, coupled with mounting frustrations over surging crime, will ultimately eradicate sanctuary policies, it offers California's dissenting local leaders with a rare opportunity they will either seize or risk losing through inaction.

"The real test will be when the Trump administration begins imposing penalties on California, such as denying certain funding, and possibly takes legal action to challenge some of the more egregious local policies," Vaughan stated.

"This is a battle that needs to be fought, both for supremacy of the federal government on immigration enforcement and for the sake of public safety," she remarked.

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Trump’s FBI Reforms Need To Include Ending Its Data Distortions On Crime

The FBI doesn't just have a transparency problem. They're actually distorting data to skew important crime statistics.

Soros-backed DA Pamela Price will face recall vote



George Soros-funded Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price (D) will face a recall vote this year after campaigns targeting the soft-on-crime DA collected enough signatures to make it onto the ballot.

The groups behind the recall effort submitted 123,000 signatures to election officials in early March. The campaigns only needed approximately 73,000 verified signatures to trigger a special election.

On Monday, the Alameda County registrar of voters announced that enough verified signatures were collected to launch a recall vote.

Following a manual review, the registrar found that 74,757 of the signatures were valid, while nearly 49,000 were invalid, KQED reported.

The county's board of supervisors will need to determine when to hold the recall election. A date must be decided within 14 days of the registrar completing the signature validation process.

It is unclear whether the county will hold a separate special election, which would cost around $20 million, or if the recall vote will be consolidated with the regularly scheduled election in November to save funds.

Leaders of the effort to oust Price have blamed her progressive policies for the increase in criminal activity in Oakland.

Price promised to radically reform the criminal justice system, reduce mass incarceration, end the death penalty, and prohibit minors from being charged as adults.

Since Price has been in office, many Oakland businesses have closed down due to the area's rampant crime.

Carl Chan, one of the recall's leaders, stated in March that the petition to remove Price is "not about politics, but about public safety."

Brenda Grisham, another leader of the recall effort, said, "We shouldn't have to do this, but for the safety of our community, the safety of our children, the safety of our businesses, this is something that had to be done. This is a right for the citizens of Alameda County."

Under Price's leadership, multiple veteran prosecutors have resigned, citing an inability to perform their job duties. Even the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Oakland branch has accused Price of creating a "doom-loop," slamming her "progressive policies and failed leadership."

A spokesperson for Price's Protect the Win campaign previously claimed that the DA would win a recall vote. However, Price's campaign has since become so low on money that it allowed the contract with its campaign manager to expire, KQED reported.

Price, during a July interview with local news, claimed that her role as DA "has really no impact on crime." She has called those who support the recall effort "election deniers."

"We had an election. We won the election by an overwhelming majority. It wasn't a small, close election and so the people who lost, they lost, and when you lose an election, you shouldn't be able to overturn the will of the voters. That's what happened during the insurrection on Jan. 6," Price stated last year.

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