Gavin Newsom is used to getting his way in California.
He can't stand being told no.
And Gavin Newsom was blindsided when the LAPD gave him this brutal rejection.
LAPD Chief calls Newsom's mask ban dangerous and poorly planned
Gavin Newsom signed California's "No Secret Police Act" in September 2025 thinking he'd struck a blow against Trump's immigration enforcement.
The law bans federal agents from wearing masks during operations and makes violations a misdemeanor.
Newsom stood in Los Angeles flanked by state lawmakers and illegal alien advocates declaring Trump's masked ICE agents were creating a "dystopian sci fi novel."
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell just told Newsom where he can stick his law.
McDonnell announced that the LAPD won't enforce the mask ban against federal agents.
"The reality of one armed agency approaching another armed agency to create conflict over something that would be a misdemeanor at best or an infraction, it doesn't make any sense," McDonnell told reporters.
"It's not a good public policy decision and it wasn't well thought out in my opinion."
Ordering officers to cite federal agents for wearing masks would escalate dangerous situations instead of de-escalating them.
"From a practical standpoint, our role when we get to a scene is to de-escalate the situation, not to ramp it up," McDonnell said.
"Trying to enforce a misdemeanor violation on another law enforcement agency, that's not going to end well."
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department also announced it won't enforce the ban.
California's mask flip-flop exposes Newsom's desperation
McDonnell pointed out the absurdity of California's schizophrenic mask policies.
During the pandemic, California mandated masks for everyone.
Then smash-and-grab robbers wearing masks made them harder to catch.
Now Newsom wants to ban masks again but only for the federal agents trying to enforce immigration law.
Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez actually said out loud that the mask ban was "specifically aimed to federal agents because we gotta combat these kidnappings somehow."
That's what Democrats call legal deportations now.
Kidnappings.
The Trump Administration immediately sued to block Newsom's stunt.
Attorney General Pam Bondi pointed out the obvious problem.
"California's anti-law enforcement policies discriminate against the federal government and are designed to create risk for our agents," Bondi said.
Federal agents wear masks because leftist activists threatened to dox them and their families.
During ICE operations, crowds can be heard threatening to "find out who officers and their family members are and where they live."
Public websites exist specifically to publish personal information about ICE officers to harass and threaten them and their families.
Newsom doesn't care about agent safety.
He's running for President in 2028 and needs to keep playing resister-in-chief.
Newsom's law crumbles before it even takes effect
The mask ban took effect January 1 but it's already under a legal stay while Trump's lawyers challenge it in court.
An 1890 Supreme Court case makes this an easy win for Trump.
States cannot prosecute federal law enforcement officers acting in the course of their duties.
That's been settled law for more than 130 years.
Even if the courts somehow sided with Newsom, his own police chiefs just told him they won't enforce it anyway.
McDonnell made clear the LAPD sides with federal law enforcement except on immigration policy.
"We are in line with our federal partners on everything except immigration enforcement," McDonnell said.
"What we've seen since June here in Los Angeles and seen across the country, we're as frustrated as everybody else — about the way that's being done."
He's frustrated with Trump's tactics but he's not going to risk officer safety over Newsom's Presidential ambitions.
Newsom's own police department in his own liberal stronghold just refused to enforce his signature anti-Trump law.
He thought he could grandstand on the national stage by hamstringing federal immigration enforcement.
Instead? His top law enforcement officials exposed the whole thing as dangerous, poorly planned political theater.
Sources:
- Jeremy Louwerse, "LAPD won't enforce federal agent mask ban: 'It wasn't well thought out,' Chief McDonnell," New York Post, February 1, 2026.
- Ben Kew, "LAPD Chief Defies Gavin Newsom, Refuses to Enforce Face Covering Ban on ICE Agents," The Gateway Pundit, January 31, 2026.
- CalMatters, "As California mask ban takes effect, Trump sues to block it," December 22, 2025.
- Michael R. Blood, Associated Press, "California bans face coverings for most law enforcement officers during operations," PBS News, September 21, 2025.
- Department of Justice, "Justice Department Files Complaint Challenging California Mask Ban and Identification Requirements for Federal Officers," November 17, 2025.
