On Friday, Gavin Newsom was inaugurated as California’s Governor again. The day started with a “March for Democracy” through the Capitol Mall, where journalists reported being kept at bay and having their access threatened for… doing freedom of the press things.

Governor’s press office and campaign largely focused on keeping the media away from this media stunt of a march to kick of Newsom’s second inaugural, including threats that we would be blocked from attending the speech pic.twitter.com/z5jHYxtKxK

— Alexei Koseff (@akoseff) January 6, 2023

Gavin Newsom started off leading the “anti-January 6th” themed march, until reports came in that he was no longer marching and, as expected, was just there for a photo-op.

Here comes the “march for Democracy” but Governor Gavin Newsom is not in front? Or anywhere in the march now a couple of blocks away from the inauguration site. pic.twitter.com/w4wgw3qG5g

— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) January 6, 2023

Of course, it only gets more “democracy” from there. During the ceremony, Joshua Coleman, a demonstrator with a pink “pussy hat” and matching mask, can be seen holding a “Ron DeSantis for President 2024” sign that is ripped away from him by the “democracy” supporters in the crowd before his ejection from the event.

Regarding the message on his sign, Coleman tells RedState,

“It’s mainly because I think Ron DeSantis is the shining example of a governor across the country. The Democrats are worried about DeSantis. Newsom was campaigning in Florida, trying to troll Ron DeSantis, and I’m giving him a taste of his own medicine.”

You have to LOVE the Pink hat and Pink MASK! Nice touch (Pink) Hats off to YOU, Josh Coleman!

— Rob Schneider (@RobSchneider) January 6, 2023

The other side of Coleman’s sign was about the risks of vaccination, reading ” COVID-19 vaccines can cause heart attacks, blood clots”.

Coleman can be heard shouting about known side effects as he unveiled his signage. In comparing former President Donald Trump to DeSantis on the vaccine issue, Coleman says he prefers DeSantis, saying,

“DeSantis has the stronger stance on vaccines and pharma manufacturer liability.”

Coleman tells RedState that he feels that it is important that people get informed consent, saying,

“Newsom isn’t doing it, the mainstream media isn’t doing it, so this is guerilla protesting. People are talking about what was on the sign so, mission accomplished. As you know, everyone should have informed consent, make informed decisions and I’m just trying to make that happen.”

RedState has previously covered Coleman’s vaccine information campaigns. Similarly, In 2019, Joshua Coleman was kicked out of the Women’s March while advocating for women’s bodily autonomy with a sign that read, “Vaccine mandates violate women’s choice” while the other side read, “Senator Pan doesn’t trust women.” And, again the following year a similar situation happened at the LA Women’s March, where several women allied with Coleman were battered and their property ripped from them by women’s equality folks.

Due to his previous demonstrations and activism around the California Capitol, the pink hat and mask were intended as more of a disguise than a costume, Coleman explains,

“It was to hide my face, many legislators know what I look like, and most Capitol Police who have been around for a couple of years. I also thought that the bright pink mask and hat would make people think that I’m LGBTQ+ because they can get away with anything, people are scared of them.”

Coleman says he thought the color might also help to pick him out of the crowd in photos, and admits he didn’t expect to be the only pink hat wearer, telling RedState,

“I didn’t think I’d be the only one wearing it, I see that at a lot of events. I was dressing like they dress there, in order to get in and do that.”

While getting access to the event was difficult, although the tickets were free they were scarce; securing entry was not the only obstacle he faced. Coleman said he planned on taking off the hat, mask, and jacket so that people would recognize him, and so that his shirt would be visible. His shirt read, “Fight like hell”, a Trump quote attributed to his January 6, 2021, speech, worn as a way of trolling Newsom over the event’s subcontext.

Coleman describes a cumbersome experience in getting his collapsible sign from where it had been concealed on his body, and running out of time to ditch the mask, hat, and jacket, saying,

“I had no idea swearing him in would go so fast!”

Although Coleman is a very experienced event and demonstration organizer, he felt this one stood out to him as much scarier than previous experiences, telling RedState,

“This was the scariest thing I have done yet. Newsom has more power than (Senator) Pan, (Peter) Hotez, and (Paul) Offit. He’s in line for the presidency. Newsom made a fair amount of eye contact with me, a little creepy, with that creepy smile.”

@GavinNewsom inauguration was interrupted by a Californian sick of watching his state ruined by the corrupt politician. @GovRonDeSantis @RobSchneider @scrowder @SaltyCracker9 @KinelRyan @RubinReport @hodgetwins @GeeksGamersCom @TheQuartering @SCReviewsmang @TuckerCarlson pic.twitter.com/LajTjOdQ67

— Joshua Coleman (@joshbucky) January 7, 2023

Coleman published his own video capturing his experience at the inauguration, including scenes where the Capitol Police attempted to detain him, seemingly without cause. He tells RedState he included the interaction with law enforcement in his video to demonstrate how civilians can assert their rights, saying,

“I wanted to show that you don’t have to tell them your name or show your ID if you are not suspected of a crime. There is a way to do that.”

While demonstrating how to handle a situation where there may not be cause to hold a civilian in detention or demand that they produce identification, Coleman acknowledges that not everyone will understand police interactions and may take it out of context. Coleman explains,

“I am concerned people will take it out of context and not understand. I was just exercising my rights. I do back the blue and I thanked them.”

Celebrities and conservative pundits have celebrated Coleman’s demonstration on social media, including comedian Rob Schneider and David Harris Jr.