NEWSOM THREATENS TRUMP AND AMERICANS WITH PRISON FOR QUESTIONING CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS – "FAFO, DONALD"
California Governor Gavin Newsom just posted a direct shot at President Trump and anyone who questions how elections are run in his state.
“Trump says voter fraud should land people in prison. Agreed,” Newsom wrote. “And let’s start with the politicians spreading election lies with the goal of illegally interfering with counting ballots. In California, I just signed a law making that punishable with up to 3 years behind bars. More to come. FAFO, Donald.”
The bill he’s bragging about is SB 73. On paper it strengthens rules against unauthorized access to voter rolls, voting systems, and physical interference with ballots and election workers — with penalties up to three years in prison for things like knowingly taking voted ballots from officials.
But Newsom is clearly stretching it far beyond that. He’s framing “spreading election lies” and undermining confidence in elections as potential crimes under this law. That’s a huge leap from the actual text, which targets physical interference and unauthorized seizures — not political speech or skepticism.
This comes right after California’s recent open primary, where mail-in ballot counting dragged on for days and flipped results in races like the LA mayoral contest. Trump and millions of Americans have raised legitimate concerns about mail-in voting security, chain of custody, and extended counting windows for years. Newsom’s response isn’t to fix those issues — it’s to threaten jail time for questioning them.
Critics see this as classic lawfare: use the power of the state to chill speech and intimidate political opponents. Questioning election processes has been standard in American politics for decades. Suddenly, in California, it might get you labeled an “election-denier” facing prison time if a politician decides your words “interfered” with counting.
Newsom ends with “More to come.” That’s the real message. Not protecting elections — but putting a target on anyone who doesn’t trust the system the way Gavin Newsom demands.
The First Amendment exists for a reason. Threatening prison for political speech isn’t defending democracy. It’s attacking it.