Threats of death and violence against California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his family in recent months have flooded wineries and other businesses he founded and have prompted management to hire armed guards to protect employees.
Newsom is no longer involved in the day-to-day operations of PlumpJack Group, the hospitality company he founded in the ‘90s, which operates a dozen shops, wineries, restaurants and one hotel.
The Democratic governor placed all of his businesses in a blind trust as he took office to reduce potential conflicts of interest. The trust legally bars him from being involved in the businesses’ day-to-day operations or participating in buy-and-sell decisions.
But a representative for PlumpJack said that hasn’t stopped people angry with the governor from targeting the businesses with “hundreds” of hateful messages, including death threats. Misinformation about whether the wineries were subject to the same shutdown orders the governor issued for other businesses likely contributed to the venom, he said.
“The tone and the verbiage of some of these death threats are shocking,” said the representative, who asked for anonymity due to security concerns. “They are very black-and-white death threats to our employees, to Gavin, his children, his wife.”
Threats come in through social media, phone calls and emails, the representative said.
A voicemail and excerpts of emails provided to The Sacramento Bee contain graphic abusive language about Newsom and his family, including violent sexual threats against his wife. One of the communications reviewed by The Bee included a reference to Newsom’s children. Another included a threat to burn down one of the wineries with patrons inside.
Brian Ferguson, a spokesman for Newsom’s Office of Emergency Services, said he couldn’t answer specific questions about the threats but confirmed that law enforcement agencies are investigating.
“We can confirm that we are aware of these threats,” Ferguson wrote in a statement. “Any threats against elected officials, including public or private property, are taken seriously and closely monitored by the appropriate local, state or federal law enforcement.”
After the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Newsom canceled a planned news conference out of concern for his staff’s safety. He and other governors deployed the National Guard to protect state Capitol buildings from threats of violence around Biden’s inauguration.
On Tuesday, the FBI charged a Napa County man with possessing homemade explosives who agents say was plotting to attack Newsom, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern California. In an affidavit, an FBI officer said text messages indicate the man, Ian Rogers, was motivated to target Democrats by his belief that former President Donald Trump had beaten Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
“The information contained in the federal criminal complaint regarding Ian Rogers is an all too real reminder of the frightening consequences dangerous political rhetoric can have especially in emboldening violent extremism,” Newsom spokeswoman Sahar Robertson said in a statement. “We can confirm that the Governor and our administration are aware of these allegations and cooperating with law enforcement and investigators.”
The threats at the wineries and other businesses escalated over the summer, about the same time that protests mounted at the state Capitol and Newsom’s home over his shutdown orders. The wineries hired armed guards to protect employees because of the threats, the representative said.
Some rumors have spread online that Newsom has given coronavirus aid money to his own businesses. That’s false. PlumpJack Group has received about $2.8 million in federal business loans through the Paycheck Protection Program. That program is administered by the federal government, not California.
This story was originally published January 30, 2021 9:26 AM.
