California Gov. Gavin Newsom hit back at Trump border czar Tom Homan on Sunday, slamming threats the White House official previously made about arresting him and other Democratic leaders in the state.
“Come after me, arrest me, let’s just get it over with tough guy,” Newsom said in an interview with MSNBC. “I don’t give a damn. But …I care about this community, the hell are they doing. These guys need to grow up, they need to stop and we need to push back.”
Those statements come as Trump has made the rare move of sending National Guard troops in to quell immigration enforcement protests in Los Angeles without Newsom’s approval. During an interview this weekend, Homan suggested that Democratic officials – like Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass – who interfere with ICE raids could face arrest.
“I’ll say that about anybody,” Homan told NBC News. “You cross that line. It’s a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien. It’s a felony to impede law enforcement from doing their job.”
Federal authorities have already penalized Democratic lawmakers including Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was arrested for allegedly trespassing at a detention facility in New Jersey, though the case has since been dropped. Alina Habba, the interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, has also charged Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) with assault for an incident at that same location.
And Homan has previously targeted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as well, suggesting that she could be “in trouble” for hosting a webinar on immigrants’ rights.
Newsom made clear that he wouldn’t be cowed by Homan’s threats.
“That kind of bloviating is exhausting,” he said. “So, Tom, arrest me. Let’s go.”