Democrats including Gavin Newsom suggest migrant cannabis farm workers caught up in violent ICE raids were 'kids picking strawberries'
At multiple locations across southern California's Ventura County, just north of Los Angeles, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out raids on cannabis farms leading to a violent response from locals and farmworkers.
Videos of the operations at Glass House Farms show armored federal agents standing on farm roads and flanked by rows of what appear to be cannabis, or marijuana plants, while masked agitators hurled slurs and debris at law enforcement.
When the stand-off became too volatile, the National Guard and ICE agents popped tear gas which sent the crowds running in a frenzy.
One man even opened up fired upon the federal agents.
But Democrats including Newsom and Rep. Jimmy Gomez immediately shared sympathy for the targets on social media.
Newsom posted on X: 'kids running from tear gas, crying on the phone because their mother was just taken from the fields,' Newsom posted on X alongside a clip of the smokey aftermath of the fracas.
Newsom posted on X: 'ids running from tear gas, crying on the phone because their mother was just taken from the fields,' Newsom posted on X alongside a clip of the smokey aftermath of the fracas.
'Trump calls me 'Newscum' — but he's the real scum,' the two-term governor added.
The governor was widely criticized for his comment.
'Democrats are having a fit because we're enforcing our laws against people working at a weed farm,' Vice President JD Vance wrote.
'Why are you allowing small children to work in a drug farm?' commentator and LA native Peachy Keenan responded to Newsom.
'Not too late to delete this,' political strategist and '10 Minute Drill' host Matt Whitlock wrote.
In a statement to the Daily Mail DHS confirmed eight children were rescued as a result of the raid.
'At the California marijuana facility, ICE and CBP law enforcement rescued 8 unaccompanied migrant children from what looks like exploitation, violation of child labor laws and potentially human trafficking or smuggling,' a DHS spokesman said.
'Yet, Gavin Newsom, Ruben Gallego and other politicians continue to demonize and attack the law enforcement officers who bravely rescued these children.'
Stunningly, Newsom was not the only Democrat to provide political cover for the violence that broke out at the ICE raid.
Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., wrongly claimed the facility was not for cannabis production. 'Instead of prioritizing dangerous criminals Trump is targeting families that have been here for years picking our food,' he wrote, reposting the same video as Newsom and Gomez.
'The public outcry and protests are occurring because the American public knows this is wrong.'
Similarly, California Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez bizarrely - and wrongly - insinuated that the cannabis operation was actually a berry farm.
'How many MS-13 gang members are waking up at 3 a.m. to pick strawberries? O'yeah, zero!' the Democrat oddly claimed.
'Trump said he'd go after 'bad hombres,' but he's targeting the immigrant farm workers who feed America. Either he lied — or he can't tell the difference.'
Gomez was apparently unable to discern the difference between a drug and berry farm.
'Just actively dishonest to keep pushing this narrative when it's been widely reported since this afternoon that this is a criminal warrant being served at a cannabis farm - not 'farm workers who feed America,"' Fox News' Bill Melugin said, calling out Gomez for lying.
'There is no food being grown here. No strawberries either.'
The offices for Senator Gallego and Rep. Gomez did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.
'Glass House Farms were visited today by ICE Officials,' the company wrote in a statement on X.
'The company fully complied with agent search warrants and will provide further updates if necessary.'
Its unclear how many arrests were made, but DHS released a statement indicating it was carrying out operations on individuals with criminal warrants.
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