Pro-Iran Sources Claim California Is Seceding from the Union Due to U.S. Support for Israel
What happened: Pro-Iran and Iranian state-affiliated media sources are falsely claiming that Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he will declare the state’s independence due to the Trump administration’s support for Israel.
Context: The claim circulated amid reports that the Trump administration was considering denying federal disaster aid to U.S. states that boycott Israeli companies, a plan that the administration walked back following bipartisan criticism, according to Reuters.
A closer look: In early August 2025, pro-Iran accounts on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook claimed that Newsom issued a statement calling for the secession of California from the U.S., quoting him stating, “America has become a tool of genocide in the hands of Israel and [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu.”
The claim was also advanced by Palestinian newspaper Al-Hadaf, which said that Newsom’s supposed statement “reflect[s] escalating internal disagreements within the United States over international policies and the complex relationship with Israel.”
Actually: There is no evidence Newsom ever issued any such statement.
A NewsGuard review of the California State Government website, news reports, and Newsom’s official social media accounts found no evidence of any such statement.
Moreover, such a move would not be legal. The official website for the California Legislative Analyst's Office, a nonpartisan government agency, notes that California’s state constitution states that “The State of California is an inseparable part of the United States of America,” and that “The U.S. Constitution includes neither a mechanism for a state to secede from the United States nor a provision for a single state to be an autonomous nation within the United States.”
NewsGuard sent an email to Newsom’s office seeking comment on the claim but did not receive a response.
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