Rioters have rampaged through downtown Los Angeles. They have attacked law enforcement, thrown Molotov cocktails, launched mortars, and driven vehicles into police officers. They have vandalized local businesses and torched buildings. They have waved the Mexican flag while defacing the American flag. And they have terrorized law-abiding citizens, making them scared to leave their homes.
Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have done nothing to end this madness.
Instead, they and their left-wing media enablers have pinned the blame not on the violent demonstrators, but on President Donald J. Trump.
They accuse President Trump’s immigration policies—which are overwhelmingly backed by the American people—of needlessly inflaming tensions.
For these leftist leaders, ensuring public safety is optional. They allow crime and rioting when it suits their interests, but they are quick to crack down when it serves their agenda.
Just look at how the Biden Justice Department weaponized federal law to arrest, convict, and imprison peaceful religious and pro-life demonstrators across the nation.
Or consider the ruthless enforcement of COVID regulations. In 2020, Governor Newsom enforced unconstitutional lockdown orders by arresting peaceful beachgoers. Their crime? Daring to step outside to enjoy California’s natural beauty.
But of course, those rules didn’t apply to him or his friends. At the height of lockdowns, Newsom was caught hosting a swanky birthday party at an upscale restaurant alongside wealthy elites.
The fact that Democrats like Newsom refuse to enforce the law against looters, anarchists, and left-wing terrorists—not to mention hardened criminals in this country illegally—is telling. They are on the side of chaos. They are on the side of disorder. They are on the side of violence.
Thankfully, President Trump sees this political violence for what it is, and he won’t let these rioters and their Democrat allies throw violent tantrums that endanger innocent citizens. He recognizes the need to restore order swiftly, whether or not Gavin Newsom or Karen Bass want him to.
That’s why he wasted no time taking command of the National Guard and sending in the Marines to protect law enforcement, defend federal buildings, and ensure that the rule of law returns to the streets of Los Angeles.
Sadly, Alabama is not immune from the kind of disorder that is plaguing Los Angeles and other major cities around the country. In response to Senator Tuberville’s criticism of Governor Newsom’s negligence, Newsom highlighted Alabama’s high crime rates, implying that Senator Tuberville and Alabamians have no room to talk when it comes to violent crime.
What Governor Newsom didn’t acknowledge, however, is that Alabama’s high rates of violence and urban chaos are the direct result of the same left-wing, soft-on-crime policies that he promotes in California. It’s true that Alabama’s major cities are blighted by violent crime. Just last year, Birmingham had a record high homicide rate—with over 150 people brutally murdered. Montgomery has had a similar surge of criminal activity.
But this culture of violence is a choice that we can and must reject. Simply put: consistent enforcement of good laws creates public safety. We saw it clearly in New York in the 1990s and again in Los Angeles in the 2000s, where political leaders championed tough-on-crime policies that led to historic decreases in violent crime.
The majority of American people are done with the chaos and danger that plague our communities, and that majority is no longer silent.
Americans are sick and tired of having their cities ravaged by anarchists and left-wing terrorists, and we are glad to have a President who will stand with us, law-abiding citizens, in refusing to tolerate the lawlessness.
That’s why I’m running for Alabama Attorney General.
I recognize the opportunity that President Trump’s re-election affords us. We need leadership that is willing to stand up to the radical left and is willing to do what it takes to restore law and order.
I’m thankful for President Trump’s leadership in this pivotal moment, and as Alabama’s next Attorney General, I look forward to helping him win this fight.
Jay Mitchell is a former Associate Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and a Republican candidate for Alabama Attorney General in 2026.
