California Sheriffs Challenge Newson's COVID Lockdown Order

As a result of the recent COVID-19 surge in California, Governor Gavin Newsom ordered new restrictions effective Sunday, which angered many people, including many law enforcement officials. Among these were the Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties employees who stated that they will not comply with the rules. 

In video footage at the Riverside County department's website, Sheriff Chad Bianco said that his office "will not be blackmailed, bullied or used as muscle" against the residents of Riverside to impose Gov. Newsom’s restrictions.

At the same time, the sheriff of Orange County, Don Barnes, stated that his deputies "will not be dispatched to, or respond to, calls for service to enforce compliance with face coverings, social gatherings or stay-at-home orders."

Under the rules of Mayor London Breed, the lockdown was also effective in the Bay Area of San Francisco as of Sunday morning.

Last month, Mayor Breed and Gov. Newsom were strongly criticized after having dinner at an expensive restaurant amid the COVID-19 restrictions. 

On Sunday, the coronavirus cases in California exceeded 30,000, marking a new record high for hospitalized patients, while the new cases in North Carolina, New Jersey, and Virginia have also increased dramatically.

On Sunday, the White House's COVID-19 response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx was upset of having "governors and mayors who have cases equivalent to what they had in the summertime yet aren't putting in the same policies and mitigations that they put in the summer, that they know changed the course of this pandemic across the South."