Latest news with #vigilanteJustice
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Mike Johnson suggests Gavin Newsom should be ‘tarred and feathered'
Republican US House speaker Mike Johnson advocated for a brutal form of vigilante justice to be performed on the Democratic California governor, Gavin Newsom, on Tuesday, saying he should be 'tarred and feathered' for his opposition to immigration agents' enforcement actions in the state. Newsom replied: 'Good to know we're skipping the arrest and going straight for the 1700's style forms of punishment. A fitting threat given the [Republicans] want to bring our country back to the 18th century,' when what is now the US was ruled by a monarch. The came after the Louisiana congressman declined to say if Newsom and other California officials should be arrested – as a Trump and his 'border czar', Tom Homan, have recently floated – for allegedly impeding federal deportations. Tarring and feathering, in which the recipient is stripped naked and wood tar applied to the skin followed by feathers, is first recorded as being used in 1189 in orders issued by Richard I of England during the Crusades. But it became a more common form of vigilante justice for tax evaders, customs officials and others in British colonies in North America and used by Continental forces against the British during the American revolutionary war. It is now most commonly used as a metaphor for the application of public humiliation. Johnson's comment follows days of verbal sparring between Trump, members of his administration and elected officials in California in response to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) raids on Los Angeles businesses, the protests that followed and the ordering of national guard troops and marines into the city. On Sunday, Homan refused to rule out arresting Newsom or the Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, after issuing previous threats of arrest for anyone who obstructs immigration enforcement. 'I'll say it about anybody,' Homan said. 'You cross that line – it's a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien. It's a felony to impede law enforcement doing their job.' But Homan did not directly accuse Newsom, Bass or any California politician of impeding Ice enforcement. Asked about the LA mayor, he said he did not believe 'she's crossed the line yet'. Newsom later pushed back against Homan, goading him to carry out an arrest, saying: 'Come after me – arrest me. Let's just get it over with, tough guy. I don't give a damn.' A day later, Trump was asked if he supported Homan's suggestion he might arrest the California governor. 'I would do it if I were Tom. I think it's great,' Trump said. 'I like Gavin Newsom. He's a nice guy. But he's grossly incompetent.' He added: 'Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing.' Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion Yet later both sides were looking to dial down the rhetoric. Homan told CBS News 'there's no intention to arrest' Newsom and said: 'That whole thing's been taken out of context. 'They 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.' In his comments on Tuesday, Johnson repeated his position that any decision to arrest Newsom was not his to make, but the governor was 'standing in the way of the administration of carrying out federal law'. 'He is applauding the bad guys and standing in the way of the good guys,' Johnson said. 'He is a participant, an accomplice.' He added: 'I'm not going to give you legal analysis on whether Gavin Newsom should be arrested. But he ought to be tarred and feathered, I'll say that.'
The Guardian
29-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Robert Jenrick turns vigilante in bid to tackle London's fare dodgers
Robert Jenrick is perhaps best known to the public as the former government minister who unlawfully intervened in a planning decision that could have saved a Conservative party donor tens of millions of pounds. To others, he may be the Tory MP that parliament's spending watchdog said was centrally involved in wasting nearly £100m on a botched plan to house asylum seekers. Now, however, Jenrick has a new claim to fame: as the man who released a video of himself delivering 'vigilante justice' to people he accused of fare dodging in London. The failed party leadership candidate posted a video online on Thursday morning in which he accused the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, of 'driving a proud city into the ground', adding: 'Lawbreaking is out of control. He's not acting. So, I did.' Jenrick is seen approaching people near tube barriers and asking them if they think 'it is all right not to pay'. Addressing the camera during the minute-long clip, Jenrick – who in 2020 accepted that his approval of the billionaire Richard Desmond's project had been unlawful – said it was 'so annoying watching so many people break the law and get away with it'. He added that the state needed to 'reassert itself and go after lawbreakers'. Transport for London (TfL) said fare-evasion had actually fallen slightly recently – down 0.3% on 2023/24's rate to 3.5%. And officials claimed it was lower than many cities globally – citing as an example the 13% seen in New York City. They said they hoped to further cut fare evasion in the capital to reach 1.5% by 2030. Nevertheless, it is still a serious problem in London – costing an estimated £130m a year. Siwan Hayward, TfL's director of security, policing and enforcement, said: 'Fare evasion is unacceptable. That is why we are strengthening our capability to deter and detect fare evaders, including expanding our team of professional investigators to target the most prolific fare evaders across the network.' And the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association said it had 'consistently called for a fully resourced British Transport police and trained revenue protection officers to tackle fare evasion effectively and safely'. It added: 'The latest incident involving a Conservative MP, who took it upon himself to confront fare dodgers on public transport, highlights the dangers of vigilante justice.' Jenrick also said in the clip: 'It's the same with bike theft, phone theft, tool theft, shoplifting, drugs in town centres, weird Turkish barber shops. It's all chipping away at society.' Asked to explain what he meant, Jenrick said: 'Obviously, many Turkish barber shops are good local businesses. However, when small towns have as many as 14 barber shops, many of them Turkish-styled and sitting empty, there are questions to answer. 'The National Crime Agency set out earlier this year that it's investigating the boom in 'Turkish barber shops' over concerns many are being used as fronts for money laundering drug and criminal profits. The authorities should continue to pursue suspicious premises.' Hours after the video emerged, Jenrick accepted he had not got permission to film on TfL premises, telling LBC radio he did not want to forewarn the organisation of his plan to potentially embarrass it. While it is understood he did not breach the letter of TfL's rules, a TfL spokesperson said: 'We expect permission to be sought for filming of this nature.' It is understood the organisation expects elected officials to work with it in such circumstances.
