Newsom says California will intervene in court case blocking San Francisco from clearing encampments

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday the state will intervene in an ongoing federal court case that's barred San Francisco from cleaning up homeless encampments until more shelter beds are available, saying the judge has gone too far and is preventing the state from solving a critical problem.

“I hope this goes to the Supreme Court,” Newsom said. “And that’s a hell of a statement coming from a progressive Democrat.”

Newsom made his remarks during an interview with news outlet Politico in Sacramento. He previously blasted U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle but had not disclosed his administration's plan to file an amicus brief supporting the city's efforts to overturn the ruling.

Ryu granted the injunction in December after homeless advocates argued the city had been violating the law by clearing homeless encampments without offering shelter and improperly throwing out peoples' belongings such as cellphones and medication.

Her decision has drawn rebuke from Democratic leaders in San Francisco, who argued in court last month for a reversal of the decision. They say the ruling has made it nearly impossible to clean up the city’s streets and that more people are refusing shelter even when it is available.

Newsom, the former San Francisco mayor, said he’s personally worked on cleaning up three encampments near San Francisco but that his staff stopped him from cleaning up a fourth due to a court ruling. More broadly, Newsom said federal judges are ruling with a “perverse interpretation” of a court ruling stemming from a case in Boise, Idaho, that said cities can't prosecute people for sleeping on...