Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has been at the forefront of telling California residents to wear masks, not gather in groups, and to socially distance as the United States deals with COVID-19, but he violated his own orders at a recent gathering in a high-class restaurant.
Newsom has already apologized for the incident, but photos obtained by Fox 11 show just how much the party he was attending threw COVID-19 guidelines out the window.
EXCLUSIVE: We've obtained photos of Governor Gavin Newsom at the Napa dinner party he's in hot water over. The photos call into question just how outdoors the dinner was. A witness who took photos tells us his group was so loud, the sliding doors had to be closed. 10pm on @FOXLA pic.twitter.com/gtOVEwa864
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) November 18, 2020
Fox 11 confirmed the metadata from the photos, which shows Newsom and other diners seated close together and not wearing masks.
"While we were there we realized there was a very loud party going on in a room 20 feet from us. It was a bit annoying since you’re spending hard-earned money to go there," the woman who took the pictures told Fox 11. "It got louder and louder and so they had some sliding glass doors that they were able to close, so then it was a closed-off room but you could still hear them with how loud they were.
"I just happened to look over and realize hey is that Gavin Newsom, who is that? And I did ask one of the waitresses and she confirmed it was, so I was able to take a couple of photos, I was able to document this especially since nobody was wearing a mask. It was a very large group of people shoulder to shoulder, something that he’s always telling us not to do so yeah it was a bit annoying for sure," she added.
A spokesperson for lobbyist Jason Kinney, who was at the dinner, told Fox 11, "The guests and the restaurant followed all applicable state and county public health guidance. The guests specifically required outdoor seating. And that’s outdoor seating, as confirmed and provided by the restaurant."
With Thanksgiving around the corner and cases of COVID-19 are on the rise, Newsom has put more restrictions on businesses, such as restaurants and gyms.