California Governor Gavin Newsom witnessed a shoplifter walk out of a Target with stolen goods and was told by a clerk that they don’t stop them because of the governor.
This incident highlights the issue of shoplifting and law enforcement in California, where the threshold for felony theft is $950, but little is done to prosecute misdemeanor crimes under that amount.
The state’s laws and enforcement practices, including a reluctance to prosecute misdemeanor offenses and a law prohibiting employers from asking employees to stop shoplifters, contribute to a sense of helplessness among retailers.
In a Zoom call about a mental health proposition, Gov. Gavin Newsom says he was at a Target and saw someone walk out without paying.
He asked a worker why the person steals and they blamed the Governor before looking at him twice and recognizing him.
“I was like, why I am… pic.twitter.com/zpLFtNwiSZ
— Gabriel Lorenzo Greschler (@ggreschler) January 31, 2024
“As we’re checking out, the woman says, ‘Oh, he’s just walking out, he didn’t pay for that,’” Newsom said of the incident. “I said, ‘Why didn’t you stop him?’ She goes, ‘Oh, the governor.’”
“Swear to God, true story, on my mom’s grave,” he said.
“’The governor lowered the threshold, there’s no accountability,’” Newsom recalled the worker saying to him.
“I said, ‘That’s just not true,’” Newsom said.
“I said, ‘We had the 10th toughest — $950 is the 10th toughest in America,” he said.
“She didn’t know what I was talking about — by the way, it’s the 10th toughest in America. Look it up,” Newsom said. “No one gives a d— about that.”
“We don’t stop them because of the governor,” the worker said.
The worker then recognized Newsom and asked for a photo.
“I said, ‘No, I’m not taking a photo — we’re going to have a conversation with your manager,’” Newsom said.
“How you blaming the governor?” he had asked.
“I was like, ‘Why am I spending $380 when everyone can walk the hell right out?’” Newsom said of the event.
Critics argue that Newsom’s story may be a deliberate misdirection about the state’s laws.
“It means he’s shoveling shirt to deceive by citing the felony/misdemeanor theft $ threshhold because the important distinction is that California doesn’t police theft misdemeanors the way nearly all other states do. Cali treats it as a citation like a minor traffic violation,” one X user wrote.
