Newsom’s Search for the Secret Police | The American Spectator

Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 627, authored by San Francisco Democrat Scott Wiener, which bans federal officers from wearing masks as they perform law enforcement duties. In his signing message, Gov. Newsom said:

America should never be a country where masked “secret police” grab people off the street and throw them into unmarked vans and speed away. It is unacceptable that government agents, guns in hand, have seized our neighbors while wearing masks under the pretense of protecting themselves when they are, in fact, hiding from public accountability and sowing fear to intimidate the American people.

The governor is on to something here, but he might have overlooked stronger candidates for the nation’s “secret police.” Consider, for example, the Secret Service, which operates out of the public view and is authorized to deploy deadly force. (RELATED: The Meaning Behind ICE Agents’ Masks)

On July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania, a Secret Service sniper killed Thomas Matthew Crooks after he had gained a rooftop shooting position and fired eight shots, killing rally attendee Corey Comperatore and wounding candidate Donald Trump. The Secret Service is tasked to protect the president, but in recent years, that role has been taken over by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

On August 9, 2023, an FBI SWAT team shot dead Craig Robertson, a 75-year-old woodworker, for threats to Joe Biden he had allegedly made online. According to the Secret Service, the operation was an “FBI-led effort,” which raises issues beyond jurisdiction.

When a police officer is involved in a shooting, the officer is often placed on administrative leave while the department conducts an investigation. At this writing, news of any probe is hard to find, and despite protests from Sen. Mike Lee, Congress has not held hearings on the FBI shooting. That is a departure from past practice.

In the Ruby Ridge siege of 1992, brought on by an ATF entrapment scheme, the FBI deployed 400 heavily armed agents, helicopters, and armored personnel carriers against Randy Weaver and his family. On August 22, 1992, FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi shot dead Randy Weaver’s wife, Vicki Weaver, holding their infant daughter. Vicki Weaver was not under arrest and was not wanted for any crime. Snipers are trained carefully “to acquire” the target, so there is little chance the shooting was accidental, as the FBI claims.

Congress held hearings on the FBI siege, and the Weaver family received a settlement of $3 million from the government. Randy Weaver and his friend Kevin Harris, both wounded by FBI sniper Horiuchi, were acquitted of all charges related to the siege.

FBI director Louis Freeh later recommended Larry Potts, special agent in charge at Ruby Ridge, to be deputy director of the FBI. Attorney General William Barr lobbied former AGs to defend Horiuchi, already served by government lawyers. As it happens, Barr began his career with the CIA, another strong candidate for the nation’s secret police force.

By law restricted to operating abroad, in recent years, the CIA has deployed on the home front. In 2020, former CIA director John Brennan published Undaunted: My Fight against America’s Enemies, at Home and Abroad. Note the order in the title. Consider also Neutering the CIA: Why US Intelligence Versus Trump Has Long-Term Consequences, by former CIA analyst John Gentry.

A powerful, secretive agency, authorized to deploy deadly force, is a stronger candidate for America’s secret police than the masked officers of ICE. As Californians will remember, during the pandemic, Gov. Newsom told diners, “don’t forget to keep your mask on between bites,” while partying with lobbyists sans mask at the upscale French Laundry.

In April 2020, Gov. Newsom announced the spending of $1 billion on masks with the Chinese company Build Your Dreams (BYD), a motor vehicle manufacturer with no experience in protective equipment. Gov. Newsom hid details of the deal even from fellow Democrats, and what became of the $1 billion is not entirely clear.

Safe to say, state and federal police forces hold no monopoly on secrecy. Meanwhile, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon describes California’s no-mask law as “silly and futile. The state has no jurisdiction over the attire of federal law enforcement officials.”

Lloyd Billingsley is a policy fellow at the Independent Institute in Oakland, Calif.

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