Mike Johnson claims that Gavin Newsom ‘ought to be tarred and feathered’ over LA protests

It is the latest escalation of war of words as the Democrat pushes back against Trump administration's response to protests

House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Tuesday that California Governor Gavin Newsom should be “tarred and feathered,” even as he criticized the Democrat for allegedly not doing enough to uphold law and order in the face of the ongoing L.A. protests.

The comments mark the latest escalation in a war of words between Newsom and the Republican party, after White House border czar Tom Homan suggested over the weekend that California officials might be arrested if they impeded immigration enforcement, and Newsom responded by daring “tough guy” federal officials like Homan to detain him. (Homan later said his comments had been blown out of proportion, and that Newsom hadn’t done anything warranting arrest.)

“I'm not going to give you legal analysis on whether Gavin Newsom should be arrested, but he ought to be tarred and feathered,” Johnson said during a press conference in Washington, when asked about the fiery back-and-forth.

“The governor is now filing a lawsuit against the president. What a joke,” Johnson continued, referring to the lawsuit California filed Monday against the Trump administration’s decision to unilaterally use the state’s National Guard to respond to the protests. “Do your job man, that's what I'd tell Gavin Newsom. Stop working on your rebranding. Be a governor. Stand up for the rule of law.”

Tarring and feathering refers to a form of brutal mob violence made famous during the American Revolution, in which crowds would douse their enemies in hot tar and then cover them in feathers as a form of public punishment and humiliation.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (right) accused California governor (left) during June 10 press conference of worrying more about his political image than rule of law (Getty)

“Good to know we’re skipping the arrest and going straight for the 1700’s style forms of punishment,” Newsom responded on X to the comment. “A fitting threat given the @GOP want to bring our country back to the 18th Century.”

As thousands of police officers, federalized National Guard troops, and Marines descend on Los Angeles in the face of the protests, leaders in both parties have engaged in a parallel effort to dominate the political framing of the crisis.

Protests in the city were triggered by Trump administration launching large-scale immigration raids (AFP/Getty)

Democrats like Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass argue that the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration tactics — which have included large-scale raids and carrying out arrests at sensitive locations like courthouses and immigration offices — triggered the protests in the first place, a situation only made worse by the provocative decision to federalize the state’s National Guard troops over the objection of local officials.

“This is chaos that was started in Washington,” Bass said Monday, accusing Trump of using Los Angeles as an “experiment” to test how far he could go in seizing local power.

Members of the California National Guard stand watch outside the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building on Tuesday morning (AFP/Getty)

Senator John Fetterman, meanwhile, accused his fellow Democrats of losing “the moral high ground” when Democrats “refuse to condemn setting cars on fire, destroying buildings, and assaulting law enforcement.”

“I unapologetically stand for free speech, peaceful demonstrations, and immigration—but this is not that,” he wrote on X. “This is anarchy and true chaos.”

On the other side, figures like White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller have framed these Democratic criticisms as a form of insurrection against federal authority.

“Los Angeles and California are demanding the nullification of the election results, of federal law, of national sovereignty, and of the bedrock constitutional command of one national government,” Miller wrote on X on Tuesday.

President Trump has said he’s open to invoking the Insurrection Act, which would mark yet another dramatic escalation in federal emergency powers being used, allowing active-duty military members to be involved in making arrests.