Musk reposts claim California Governor Newsom decriminalised looting
While Newsome attempted to prevent the introduction of Proposition 36 with other measures, he did not decriminalise petty theft
CLAIM
A claim that California Governor Gavin Newsome decriminalised looting has been spreading on social media amid reports of looters taking advantage of the wildfires around Los Angeles to ransack evacuated homes.
BACKGROUND
Several people were arrested in evacuation zones of two LA wildfires last week on suspicion of looting. Authorities responded by implementing a curfew in areas around the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. to protect evacuated homes and L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna warned that not obeying evacuation orders was a misdemeanor and committing certain other crimes in an evacuation zone could see felony charges.
On Saturday, X owner Elon Musk shared a post featuring a video of Newsome being interviewed on camera saying there was “zero tolerance for looting”. In a caption the account claimed: “Newsom and California Democrats literally decriminalized looting baring (sic) police from arresting looters and prosecutors from prosecuting them.”
Musk shared the post with a clown and world emoji. It was reposted more than 33,000 times while the original post was shared more than 6,200 times at time of writing.
On Thursday, Newsome announced he had approved a request from Los Angeles County to deploy the California National Guard to support law enforcement efforts in the region.
Newsome responded to Musk on his X account, writing, “Stop encouraging looting by lying and telling people it’s decriminalized. It’s not.” At time of writing, Newsome’s post was shared over 6,500 times.
METHOD
Under Newsome’s post, several comments cited Proposition 47, which came into effect in 2014 and reclassified several non-violent felonies, including theft of property that did not exceed the value of US$950, to a misdemeanour. A document on the website of the Judicial Branch of California showed that it was punishable by up to 6 months in prison. An LA Times article reported misdemeanours are punishable with up to a year in prison.
The proposition was passed in order to reduce overcrowding in California prisons, in response to a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2011 that required the reduction of California’s prison population, according to the LA Times. Money was also redirected into drug treatment and victim services.
Proposition 47 did not apply to people with prior convictions for serious or violent crimes or registered sex offenders.
Last November, Californians voted for the reintroduction of stricter measures under Proposition 36 after Newsome’s attempt to keep it off the ballot with measures addressing retail crime failed.
Proposition 36 made theft with a value of up to US$950 a felony where there were two prior convictions for some theft-related crimes.
A report published by the Public Policy Institute of California last year showed that shoplifting figures for merchandise worth less than US$950 was 28 percent higher in 2023 than in 2019 and at its highest level since 2000.
RATING
The claim made in the post shared by Musk is factually incorrect. Proposition 47 classified looting up to a value of US$950 as a misdemeanour crime under certain circumstances. While Newsome attempted to prevent the introduction of Proposition 36 with other measures, he did not decriminalise petty theft.
SOURCES
Times, L.A. (2024) What exactly is Prop. 47? Los Angeles Times.[Accessed 13 Jan. 2025].
Lofstrom, M. and Brandon, M. eds., (2024). Commercial Burglaries Fell in 2023, but Shoplifting Continued to Rise. Public Policy Institute of California. [Accessed 13 Jan. 2025].
Ca.gov. (2024). Proposition 47 FAQs | Judicial Branch of California. [Accessed 13 Jan. 2025].
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: LOOTING: Newsom and California Democrats literally decriminalized looting [Accessed 13 Jan. 2025].
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1878173512885580222 [Accessed 13 Jan. 2025].
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: Stop encouraging looting by lying and telling people it’s decriminalized. It’s not. [Accessed 13 Jan. 2025].