A California homeless man was found not guilty of all charges after attacking a former San Francisco fire commissioner.
On Friday, Garret Doty walked free thanks to soft-on-crime liberal policies that fail to hold criminals accountable for their actions. The 25-year-old homeless man beat Donald Carmignani repeatedly over the head with a metal pipe. He faced two counts of assault and one count of battery.
Doty's defense team argued he acted out of "fear for his life" and attacked Carmignani in self-defense.
Attorneys for the former fire commissioner said that he threatened the homeless man because Doty had set up an encampment near his mother's doorstep and was afraid to leave her house. Carmignani accused Doty of refusing to move his belongings from the sidewalk.
Carmignani had 51 stitches, a fractured skull, and a broken jaw after the violent altercation.
Deputy Public Defender Kleigh Hathaway claimed Doty went into "survival mode" and that "fear response is sadly heightened for unhoused people, like Mr. Doty, who live in constant exposure."
However, John Dennis, the Chairman of the San Francisco GOP, blamed Democrat policies that threaten the lives of residents daily.
"While San Francisco Republicans respect the judicial process, we're disappointed that this violent act against a respected lifelong resident will go unpunished," Dennis told Fox News Digital. "San Francisco Democrat policies have put residents under constant threat from street dwellers. The outcome of this trial assures this sort of attack will happen again."
Carmignani and his mother said they have repeatedly called the police regarding the encampment, but authorities never responded.
Describing Doty and his group as "known criminals," Carmignani said he harassed his mother and other residents daily while also using drugs in the public space.
"My family has had prior interactions with these individuals, who have made repeated threats of violence to my family members," the San Francisco official said. "As a result, my mother did not feel safe leaving her home."
According to U.S. Census data, Californians are leaving the state in droves due to crime, homelessness, and the surge in immigrants.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA.) has spent over $20 million on the state's homeless crisis. However, it has solved not one thing. In fact, the issue is worsening.
California GOP chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson said in a statement:
“People are fleeing our state in droves. While the red states [that Democratic governor Gavin] Newsom loves to hate continue to grow in population, California’s sky-high cost of living, surging crime, homeless crisis, and failing schools aren’t a very compelling case for why people should stay here.”