Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco Publicly Decried Gov. Newsom Displaying Dictorial Attitude

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco publicly decried Gov. Newsom’s threat to withhold funding from counties who don’t enforce the lockdown dictorial.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco condemned Gov. Gavin Newsom’s threat to withhold funding from counties that choose not to enforce the new coronavirus lockdown Friday. Bianco said his department will not enforce the renewed order.

Bianco publicly decried the lockdown orders in a YouTube video posted Friday, claiming the orders were hypocritical and “dictatorial.”

“These closures and stay-at-home orders are flat out ridiculous,” Bianco said, questioning the metrics the state was using to determine what regions would shut down and said his deputies would not enforce lockdown orders should they be imposed.

As of Saturday, Southern California hospitals had just 12.5 percent capacity left in their ICU units according to Newsom. The HUGE Regional Stay-at-Home Order will go into effect at 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

The Southern California region as defined by the state includes: Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Imperial, Inyo, Mono, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

Newsom said Thursday, as he did in spring, that counties that did not enforce the lockdown order would have state funds redirected to those that did.

“He is expecting us to arrest anyone violating these orders, cite them and take their money, close their businesses, make them stay in their homes and take away their civil liberties or he will punish all of us,” he said.

Bianco accused Newsom of hypocrisy and overstepping political boundaries.

“Ironically, it wasn’t that long ago that our same governor loudly and publicly argued how wrong it was for the president of the United States to withhold federal funding from states not complying with federal laws,” Bianco said.

“The dictatorial attitude toward California residents while dining in luxury, traveling, keeping his business open and sending his kids to in-person private schools is very telling about his attitude toward California residents, his feelings about the virus, and it is extremely hypocritical.”

“While the Governor’s Office and the state has threatened action against violators, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department will not be blackmailed, bullied or used as muscle against Riverside County residents in the enforcement of the Governor’s orders,” Bianco said.

According to Bianco, the sheriff’s department’s approach to the new orders would remain the same it has throughout the pandemic.

“The Sheriff’s Department is asking and expecting Riverside County residents to act responsibly and do what they can to protect themscelves and their family from contracting the virus,” he said. “Wear your mask and practice social distancing.”

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