A rumor circulating online in June 2025 claimed California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democratic, issued a blanket pardon for anyone arrested and charged by the Los Angeles Police Department for rioting and looting. Users shared this rumor amid protests in the LA area, in which people demonstrated against stringent immigration policies imposed by Republican U.S. President Donald Trump.
For example, on June 10, the America's Last Line of Defense Facebook page shared a meme reading (archived):
Gavin Newsom issued a blanket pardon for anyone arrested and charged by the LAPD for rioting and looting. In response, Attorney General Pam Bondi has authorized the National Guard to make their own arrests under federal law. "Governor Newsom lost his right to make the rules when he let the city burn." Looters and rioters will face hate crime charges.
The text caption above the meme added, referring to Newsom, "He's trying to undermine Trump's authority any way he can. Step aside and take notes, governor. A real leader is on it now."
(America's Last Line of Defense/Facebook)
The page also featured a separate post as a reel — Meta's name for brief videos — displaying a photo of Newsom and a second picture appearing to show law enforcement officers detaining a suspect. The meme read, "Gavin Newsom issued a blanket pardon for anyone arrested and charged by the LAPD for rioting and looting." The reel received more than 1.5 million views, 37,000 likes, 5,000 comments and 8,000 shares.
(America's Last Line of Defense/Facebook)
Variations of the rumor spread in other Facebook posts, as well as on TikTok (archived), Truth Social (archived) and X (archived).
Some readers seemed to interpret the rumor as a factual recounting of real-life events. However, there was no evidence of Newsom issuing a blanket pardon for people arrested and charged with rioting and looting during the LA protests.
Rather, a manager of the America's Last Line of Defense Facebook page made up this fictional story about Newsom. The Facebook page serves as the "flagship" in a network of pages and websites also known by the same name of America's Last Line of Defense. The content network describes its output as satirical in nature.
The bio for the Facebook page read, "The flagship of the ALLOD network of trollery and propaganda for cash. Nothing on this page is real." The meme also included a small logo reading, "Nothing on this page is real."
A reverse-image search with Google Lens found in a recent LA Times article the photo from the reel showing law enforcement officers detaining a suspect, indicating it truly originated during the 2025 LA protests rather than an unrelated event, as sometimes found in the tracking of fact-check claims.
Additional LA protest rumors from ALLOD
Another made-up claim about the LA protests shared by the ALLOD Facebook page on June 9 claimed, "Three of the rioters arrested in LA will turn state's evidence against George Soros and his son Alex." The Dunning-Kruger Times website, also associated with the ALLOD network, reported an article (archived) on this matter, as well. The website's "About Us" page (archived) features a disclaimer labeling its content as "parody, satire, and tomfoolery," along with a humorous mention of Snopes.
Other fabricated rumors ALLOD shared claimed, "The International Olympic Committee will vote on moving the 2028 games from Los Angeles 'for the safety of the athletes and fans alike,'" as well as a Facebook reel reading, "The Clinton Foundation sent $6.2 million to Los Angeles to bail looters and rioters out of jail."
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources calling their output humorous or satirical.