Gavin Newsom, Not Recognizing Hilarious Trolling, Calls DeSantis Migrant Flights 'Kidnapping'

It's like he has no sense of humor or maybe thinks pawns are human.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom just can't seem to understand how funny it is for red state governors to scoop up asylum seekers who've recently been released by the federal government and then send them to blue states, proving that ain't nobody want 'em, not even the places they get sent to. It's really the best trolling ever! It's not like the migrants are human beings, anyway.

Instead, after two chartered planes recently landed in Sacramento carrying asylum seekers, Newsom took to Twitter yesterday and called Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis a "small pathetic man" and suggested that "Kidnapping charges" might be appropriate for those responsible for the awesome trolling of Newsom. The tweet cited the definition of kidnapping under California's criminal code.

“.@RonDeSantis you small, pathetic man. This isn't Martha's Vineyard. Kidnapping charges? Read the following. https: //t.co/kvuxe8Fb6F”

— Gavin Newsom (@Gavin Newsom) 1685985387 

Every person who, being out of this state, abducts or takes by force or fraud any person contrary to the law of the place where that act is committed, and brings, sends, or conveys that person within the limits of this state, and is afterwards found within the limits thereof, is guilty of kidnapping.

Oh, lighten up, Gavin! It was just a funny prank, like leaving a flaming bag of dog poop on Newsom's door, except in this case DeSantis treated as dog poop some actual living human beings who, according to the tenets of his professed faith, were made in the image of God Almighty and are loved just as much by Our Savior Jesus Christ as any rich man or potentate.

Haha, you should've seen the look on their faces when they were loaded into vans and dumped at a church in Sacramento, thinking they'd be getting help with legal status and finding jobs!

As the Los Angeles Times explains, the flights followed the same basic pattern as last year's hilarious taxpayer-funded migrant-dump prank in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. As before, DeSantis actually borrowed all the asylum-seekers from Texas since scooping them up from shelters there is easier.

Sixteen migrants from Venezuela and Colombia were transported from Texas to New Mexico and flown on a chartered jet to Sacramento, where they were dropped off Friday at a church, Newsom said.

On Monday, a plane carrying 20 migrants arrived in Sacramento. Both groups were flown by the same contractor and were carrying documents indicating that their transportation involved the state of Florida, according to officials with the California Department of Justice.

Why, yes, the contractor that did the flights was indeed Vertol Systems, the same Republican-connected aviation firm that did the extremely amusing Martha's Vineyard flights. DeSantis, the state of Florida, and a bunch of others involved in the scheme (but not Vertol) are the subject of a federal class action lawsuit by some of the migrants who were tricked into that excellent owning of the libs.

In addition, the Bexar County Sheriff's office recommended today that criminal charges be brought in Texas against those involved in the Martha's Vineyard flights, according to a statement the office sent to the Miami Herald. 

“The case filed includes both felony and misdemeanor charges of Unlawful Restraint,” according to the statement. “At this time, the case is being reviewed by the DA’s office. Once an update is available, it will be provided to the public.”

California Attorney General Rob Bonta told the Associated Press that the latest funny trick on liberals followed a similar script, according to Bonta's interviews with some of the migrants who were flown into Sacramento Friday.

[Bonta] said they told him they were approached by two women who spoke broken Spanish and promised them jobs. The women traveled with them by land from El Paso to Deming, New Mexico where two men then accompanied them on the flight to Sacramento. The same men were on the flight Monday, Bonta said.

“To see leaders and governments of other states and the state of Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis, acting with cruelty and inhumanity and moral bankruptcy and being petty and small and hurtful and harmful to those vulnerable asylum seekers is blood-boiling,” Bonta said in a Monday interview.

The AP notes that, according to the faith-based group helping them in Sacramento, all the migrants who arrived Friday had passed their initial screenings for asylum and been given court dates before being released from custody in Texas. None of the initial 16 had planned on going to California — and some had been assigned to court appearances as far away as Chicago — but haha Florida sent them to California because it's a "sanctuary state," so that's a real win against Newsom and the libs!

The trolling just gets better and better, too, because as the AP notes , it's perfectly legal for DeSantis to do this under the state'sApartheid Nuremburg Jim Crow racial purity lawscompletely normal and unobjectionable special statutes written at DeSantis's request:

Last year, DeSantis directed Republican lawmakers in Florida to create a program in his office dedicated to migrant relocations. It specified that the state could transport migrants from locations anywhere in the country. The law was designed to get around questions about the legality of transporting people on a flight that originated in Texas.

So there goes Newsom's "kidnapping" claim: It wasn't illegal in Florida. Even if it were, it's not clear whether Newsom can actually follow through on taking criminal action against DeSantis, as CalMatters notes, because it could be difficult to prove DeSantis was personally responsible for misleading the migrants and luring them onto the planes. The multiple jurisdictions would also complicate matters, as attorney Brian Hofer noted:

“You took people from one state, on flights which are funded by another state, dropped them off in a third state, and you’re going to say they were coerced or taken under threat of force?” Hofer said. “What court do you bring that in?

“It’s just a mess. The legal ground is certainly messy.”

But hey, if the sheriff in Bexar County could figure it out, maybe California could too. We hear the state has some pretty sharp attorneys, even outside the entertainment sector.

The LA Times  explains that even if no criminal action is taken against DeSantis, the migrants could join the federal lawsuit brought by the migrants sent to Martha's Vineyard last year, according to an attorney with the nonprofit that filed the suit.

Oren Sellstrom, litigation director for Lawyers for Civil Rights, said his organization has attorneys “on the ground now” in California who are investigating the latest orchestrated flight and whether it aligns with their suit.

“There is certainly exposure on both the civil and criminal side for any individuals or private companies that engage in this type of despicable conduct,” Sellstrom said. “The long-lasting impact of a stunt like this ... people were traumatized when they realized that they were abandoned.”

Well sure, but the Martha's Vineyard flights were incredibly popular with Republican voters, and since DeSantis is polling so badly against Donald Trump, a lot more asylum seekers may just need to understand they're being dumped randomly around blue states for a greater purpose.

We do hope someone is able to translate to the asylum seekers exactly how their arrival in California made Newsom look like a loser compared to Ron DeSantis, who is strong like bull and loves America more. We bet they'd really appreciate being let in on the joke.

[ LAT / AP / CalMatters / Miami Herald / Screenshot:  KGO-TV on YouTube]

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