Ron DeSantis Threatened with Kidnapping Charges, Accused of Flying Illegal Aliens to California
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom suggested Monday that GOP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis may face criminal charges after the state of Florida apparently paid for the transport of illegal immigrants from New Mexico to Sacramento.
The Los Angeles Times reported that a second plane, with 16 migrants from South America, arrived in the state’s capital city on Monday after another had landed Friday with about a dozen migrants on board.
“Documents carried by the migrants appear to show that the weekend flight was arranged through the Florida Division of Emergency Management and that it was part of the state’s program to relocate migrants, mostly from Texas, to other states, California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said,” according to the Times.
Bonta said in a Saturday statement, “Today I met with over a dozen migrants who were brought to Sacramento by private plane, with no prior arrangement or care in place.”
“We are investigating the circumstances by which these individuals were brought to California. We are also evaluating potential criminal or civil action against those who transported or arranged for the transport of these vulnerable immigrants,” Bonta added.
“While we continue to collect evidence, I want to say this very clearly: State-sanctioned kidnapping is not a public policy choice, it is immoral and disgusting,” the California attorney general stated.
Bonta told the Times on Sunday, “This is Gov. DeSantis, this is his baby, this is his project, his fingerprints are all over it. The governor signed it, the Legislature approved to fund it in the budget, and they hired Vertol Systems Co., a vendor, to carry out the work.”
Newsom tweeted, “@RonDeSantis you small, pathetic man. This isn’t Martha’s Vineyard. Kidnapping charges?”
.@RonDeSantis you small, pathetic man.
This isn’t Martha’s Vineyard.
Kidnapping charges?
Read the following. https://t.co/kvuxe8Fb6F pic.twitter.com/KyE1lJiIYo
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 5, 2023
California passed legislation in 2017 making itself a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants.
An effort to repeal the law was voted down in California Assembly Committee on Public Safety last year, KCRA-TV reported.
In September, Newsom hammered DeSantis after the Florida governor arranged to have a flight of 50 illegal immigrants sent to the exclusive island of Martha’s Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts.
Newsom called DeSantis a “disgrace” and labeled his actions “monstrous.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) slams DeSantis sending migrants to Martha’s Vineyard: “What Ron DeSantis is doing is a disgrace. It’s almost monstrous… It’s disgraceful. He’s a disgrace.” pic.twitter.com/myfvY3T2g9
— Forbes (@Forbes) September 16, 2022
DeSantis told Fox News host Sean Hannity at the time that everyone who got on the plane did so voluntarily and that Martha’s Vineyard had proclaimed itself a sanctuary jurisdiction.
“These were people who were basically destitute and then put in a situation where they could have succeeded, but that was all virtue signaling. And not only did they not welcome them, they deported them the next day with the National Guard. Give me a break,” he said.
DeSantis communications director Taryn Fenske also pointed out that the immigrants who were flown to Martha’s Vineyard signed a consent form before boarding the plane.
“I agree to hold the benefactor or its designated representatives harmless of all liability arising out of or in any way relating to any injuries and damages that may occur during the agreed transport to locations outside of Texas until the final destination of Massachusetts,” the consent form stated, according to a copy posted to Twitter by Town Hall senior writer Julio Rosas.
FL Gov. DeSantis’ office responds to the class action lawsuit that was filed in Massachusetts: “The immigrants were homeless, hungry, and abandoned – and these activists didn’t care about them then.”
Office also provided the consent form for flight to MA: pic.twitter.com/r4ZpX3kHbz
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) September 20, 2022
According to the Times, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg labeled the migrant transportation as “human trafficking.
“Human trafficking is not only despicable; it’s a felony,” he said in a statement, according to the Times. “Whoever is behind this must answer the following: Is there anything more cruel than using scared human beings to score cheap political points?”
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