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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial | |
ARTICLE VIEW: | |
Newsom’s press office under scrutiny for social media post targeting | |
Kristi Noem | |
By Kaanita Iyer, CNN | |
Updated: | |
5:28 PM EDT, Sat September 20, 2025 | |
Source: CNN | |
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office could be | |
investigated for a social media post that some Republicans perceived as | |
a threat to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem amid a heightened | |
threat environment for political figures. | |
“Kristi Noem is going to have a bad day today. You’re welcome, | |
America,” Newsom’s press office said in a on Saturday morning. | |
Bill Essayli, the acting US attorney for the Central District of | |
California, said Saturday that he has called on the Secret Service to | |
investigate the post and to perform “a full threat assessment.” | |
“We have zero tolerance for direct or implicit threats against | |
government officials,” Essayli said in a . | |
Following Essayli’s announcement, Newsom’s press office said in a | |
hours later that the original post was referring to an | |
immigration-related legislation that the governor was , that includes a | |
ban on federal law enforcement wearing masks. | |
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin | |
criticized the press office’s post, saying, “This reads like a | |
threat.” | |
“This is ugly, @GavinNewsom. Your keyboard warrior team may hide | |
behind their laptops and spew this kind of vitriol but you would never | |
have the guts to say this to her face,” McLaughlin added in a . | |
A Secret Service spokesperson said in a statement that the agency “is | |
in receipt of the Department of Justice’s communication.” | |
“To preserve operational integrity, we are not able to comment on | |
specific protective intelligence matters. However, the Secret Service | |
must vigorously investigate any situation or individual, regardless of | |
position or status, that could pose or be perceived as posing a threat | |
to any of our protectees. Especially in a politically charged climate, | |
such as this,” the statement said. | |
CNN has reached out to Newsom’s office for comment. | |
The exchange comes amid a tense political environment in the wake of | |
conservative activist’s Charlie Kirk’s killing. Government | |
officials, including members of Congress, have called for more | |
security. | |
In recent days, Republicans and members of the Trump administration | |
have gone after Democrats for their rhetoric. One GOP member of | |
Congress, Rep. , squarely blamed Democrats’ rhetoric after last | |
week’s assassination. | |
Former DHS adviser Charles Marino told CNN that “the threat level has | |
never been higher in the United States.” | |
Marino went on to say that rhetoric from politicians, including | |
Newsom’s press office’s post, is “not helpful.” | |
“This is not the maturity and the civility that helps lower the | |
threat level here,” Marino said, adding, “There needs to be a | |
cooling down here. There is responsibility on the part of politicians, | |
and they need to own that and act accordingly.” | |
White House communications director Steven Cheung slammed Newsom’s | |
press office for posting “a threat” ahead of Kirk’s memorial on | |
Sunday. | |
“To make a threat like this, especially on the memorial weekend for | |
Charlie, is beyond the pale and totally disgusting,” Cheung said in a | |
. “This is what happens when Gavin Newsom lets deranged Leftist | |
lunatics post messages on his behalf.” | |
Earlier this year, DHS and Secret Service investigated — Trump’s | |
former FBI director and now staunch critic — for a photo he posted on | |
Instagram of seashells spelling out the numbers “86 47.” | |
Trump allies immediately accused Comey of threatening the president’s | |
life as the number 86 can often refer to getting rid of or tossing | |
something out, while 47 corresponds to Trump’s current term in office | |
as the 47th president. | |
Comey eventually deleted the post, claiming he “didn’t realize some | |
folks associate those numbers with violence.” | |
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