The California Legislature passed, and Gov. Gavin Newsom eagerly signed, a bill that forbids law enforcement officers from concealing their identities with masks. The law applies to local as well as federal officers, but it’s clearly intended to make it easier to dox federal immigration agents. Of course the administration says it will ignore the law. So what happens when local and state officers try to enforce it?

A war?

California also forbids federal agents from enforcing immigration law in state courthouses. Again, the potential for blue-on-blue violence is ramped up by a Democratic majority that believes immigration law should be ignored.

We admit that masked-up federal agents wearing paramilitary garb is a bit unsettling. While they carry badges and credentials, and identify themselves when needed, it’s not the ideal way to enforce law in this country.

But we fully understand why they conceal themselves. They don’t want to get doxxed. This is exactly what they are afraid of, Gov. Newsom. And you knew that when you asked the question, and Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries knew it when he said “every single one of them, no matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes, will be identified.“

The Democrats are clearly in the intimidation business.

According to Homeland Security, there has been a 1,000% increase in violence against ICE agents. By hiding their faces, they are protecting themselves and their families from feral gang members, cartel cutthroats, Antifa and the many loose-screw leftists who solidly anchor the Democratic Party’s base.

They are hunted even within their own spaces. A man targeted the Dallas ICE facility Wednesday, sniper-style, shooting three detainees with anti-ICE messages on his ammunition, killing one before taking his own life, authorities say.

Does Newsom, who craves the media spotlight like few others in the political world, and is constantly trying to make his case to be president, want the officers and their families to always be in danger?

It could easily be argued he does. He dropped a threat on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Saturday, proclaiming she was “going to have a bad day today,” the day he signed the bill. On Tuesday evening’s appearance on CBS’ “Late Show,” he went full arsonist when he claimed ICE operations “are not just authoritarian tendencies, these are authoritarian actions by an authoritarian government.”

The law, which won’t take effect until July 2026, makes it a misdemeanor for officers to wear masks except when operating approved undercover assignments, working on SWAT teams, protecting their health with surgical masks or shielding themselves from tear gas, smoke and lasers that can damage eyes. Violations are punishable by six months in a county jail and a $1,000 fine.

We understand the virtue signaling of California lawmakers and are aware of Newsom’s chronic ache to occupy the White House. But this law sets up conflicts between law enforcement officers that could get bloody, even deadly. It’s an intentional provocation.

Veteran California columnist Dan Walters says it’s “delusional” to “believe federal officers will be arrested and prosecuted for wearing masks” because “state and local authorities have no power to arrest federal officers for official actions, no matter how questionable they may be.” This was made clear by the U.S. Supreme Court, he says.

But Steve Smith, a Pacific Research Institute senior fellow who covers crime and is a former peace officer, notes that the new law requires the arrest of federal officers, which “creates an absurd situation that would certainly wind up in the courts.”

Or worse, in an emergency room after locals tried to arrest federal officers who were just doing their jobs and resisted.

Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s chief strategist during the early months of his first term, believes “England is heading to a civil war.” Other observers are making similar statements as they see a population fed up with a ruling class that is subjugating and persecuting the citizenry. Some now see a fractured and rather edgy U.S. also headed toward a violent conflict between the left and the right.

It seems incomprehensible that it could happen here. But wars are often primed by what at the time seemed like an inconsequential event – maybe something so minor as an armed standoff between California law enforcement officers and federal agents in which a nervous trigger finger or accidental discharge set off a gun battle.

— Written by the I&I Editorial Board