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Here's What Newsom Was Doing as Anti-ICE Riots Broke Out in LA

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  June 20, 2025 8:00 AM

Gov. Gavin Newsom's office is battling investigative journalist Chris Rufo after the Manhattan Institute senior fellow ran a report detailing what the California Democrat was doing the day after violent anti-ICE riots broke out in Los Angeles, with some arguing it gave off "French Laundry vibes." 

As most will remember, during the height of the Covid pandemic, Newsom drew national condemnation for skirting his own rules by attending the swanky French Laundry with political allies. Despite his own advice to residents about family gatherings as the Thanksgiving holiday approached, Newsom was pictured among political allies maskless and certainly not practicing social distancing in what he later acknowledged was a "mistake." 

This time, however, Newsom was sipping wine in Napa Valley at a cancer charity "benefiting the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, in honor of his mother, who died of breast cancer at age 55," according to his office. 

As Rufo and investigative reporter Ryan Thorpe report:

The wine-tasting was held on the afternoon of June 7, 2025, at the Odette Estate Winery, which Newsom co-founded in 2011. Dubbed “Vineyard Vibes,” the event was a fundraiser for the PlumpJack Foundation, founded by Newsom’s sister, and featured “contemporary yet sophisticated” wines, live jazz music, and locally made pizza and smash burgers. “It’s the perfect kick-off to summer fun,” read promotional language. “The fete will take place on the Winery Crushpad, where we’ll gather for music, food, conversation, and delicious wine!”

A source who photographed Newsom at the event expressed shock that the governor was in attendance, given that riots had broken out in Los Angeles the day before. “I couldn’t believe it,” the source said. “He was just walking around like this was an everyday occurrence.” Newsom was at the wine party for at least 90 minutes, according to the source, who said that when the governor finally left, he appeared to retreat to the inner rooms of his winery.

The timeline is worth noting. The Los Angeles riots broke out on June 6, in response to the Trump administration’s illegal-alien deportation policies. As Newsom sampled wines in Napa Valley the next day, rioters in Los Angeles had already begun vandalizing public buildings, barricading streets, setting vehicles on fire, and throwing rocks, bottles, and cinder blocks at law enforcement officers. That evening, after the wine party had finished, President Trump authorized the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to California, saying that they were needed to “address the lawlessness.” (City Journal)

The story led to a war of words on X between the parties with plenty of others chiming in as well. 

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