Newsom attacks judge overseeing California assault weapons ban

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is attacking the character of the federal judge who is expected to soon release a decision soon about the state's assault weapons ban, based on a news report that the judge handcuffed a teen girl to scare her away from committing a crime. 

Southern District Roger Benitez had the 13-year-old girl handcuffed by a U.S. marshal during a Feb. 13 hearing for her father, according to a transcript of the court proceedings obtained by a local outlet.

The judge told the girl that the exercise was meant to scare her away from doing drugs and being in court like her father.

"Judge Benitez on full display," Newsom tweeted Wednesday with a link to a San Diego Union-Tribune article about the incident. "THIS is the man who is deciding the fate of CA’s assault weapons ban. A man that will handcuff innocent kids in a courtroom for the sake of humiliation."

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday said it is reviewing the incident. 

Benitez struck down California's decades-old assault weapons ban in 2021. He is expected to make another ruling soon to overturn the state's assault weapons ban again, according to Sacramento's ABC 7.