Newsom doubles down on possible legal charges over migrant flights from Florida

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) doubled down on possible legal charges against Florida officials over the two recent flights of migrants sent from there. 

Newsom told Politico in an interview on Tuesday that at least some of the migrants who were flown to the state capital of Sacramento appear to have been misled and sent under false pretenses. He rejected the Florida state government’s insistence that the migrants all traveled voluntarily. 

“When you have the smoking gun, which is the paperwork in hand that everyone hands over to you, it’s pretty self-evident,” he said. 

Newsom’s declaration came after California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said that Florida appeared to be responsible for a private plane of South American migrants that arrived last week “with no prior arrangement or care in place.” A second flight of asylum-seekers arrived Monday. 

The Florida Division of Emergency Management confirmed Tuesday that it was responsible for the flights. 

“From left-leaning mayors in El Paso, Texas, and Denver, Colorado, the relocation of those illegally crossing the United States border is not new,” spokesperson Alecia Collins told The Hill. “But suddenly, when Florida sends illegal aliens to a sanctuary city, it’s false imprisonment and kidnapping.” 

Bonta said after the flights landed that California was conducting an investigation and considering any criminal charges of civil action that might be taken. He said the flights might be instances of “state-sanctioned kidnapping.” 

Newsom called Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) a “small, pathetic man” and raised the possibility of kidnapping charges being filed over the flights. Newsom and DeSantis have periodically sparred over the past year on a variety of issues. 

DeSantis is one of a few Republican governors who have sent migrants arriving in their states to Democratic-run cities by plane or bus to protest federal immigration policies on the U.S.-Mexico border. 

DeSantis sent two planes of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts in September. 

Newsom said the investigation is “very serious,” and officials will decide about any charges after reviewing the facts. 

“All this does is reinforce the cruelty of this act and the manipulative nature of the act and the stunt that this is — the shameful nature of it,” he said. “We are, we are very serious about pursuing action, if the facts dictate it. And Mr. DeSantis should know that.”