The talk of arresting the California governor was ’taken out of context,’ Tom Homan said.
White House border czar Tom Homan said on Monday that he has “no intention to arrest” California Gov. Gavin Newsom after the Democratic governor dared him to arrest him as protests and riots persist in Los Angeles.
Homan told CBS News that talk about arresting Newsom has “been taken out of context” and that Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass “haven’t crossed a line yet.”
“If you cross that line, I don’t care who they are—the governor, the mayor, whatever—and when you commit a crime against ICE officers, we will seek prosecution,” Homan added, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In another interview with NewsNation, Homan said that “there is no threat to arrest Gov. Newsom” but that a previous comment about arresting anybody who impedes ICE efforts to enforce laws against illegal immigrants still stands.
“If he crosses that line of impeding ICE enforcement efforts, if he knowingly harbors and conceals an alien, that’s a crime,” he told the outlet.
“We would ask … the attorney general to seek prosecution,” he added. “My words were taken out of context, but it is what it is.”
At one point on Sunday, Newsom was asked by an NBC News reporter about the possibility of being arrested. “Come and get me, tough guy,” he replied.
And when a reporter at the White House asked President Donald Trump on Monday about Newsom being arrested by Homan, the president said, “I’d do it if I were Tom,” adding: “Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing.”
The Trump administration and Newsom have been sharply critical of one another in the handling of unrest in Los Angeles over the past several days, which was sparked by protests against ICE efforts across the city. Trump and Homan have said that Newsom hasn’t been able to quell the violence, prompting the president to deploy the National Guard and Marines over the past several days.
