Image posted on X by California Governor Gavin Newsom on Sunday illustrating his comments on Saturday’s premature detonation over the I-5 highway.
A vehicle from Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade along with a California Highway Patrol (CHP) vehicle and several others were hit by shrapnel when a 155mm artillery shell prematurely detonated above California’s Interstate 5 (I-5) – the major highway linking Los Angeles and San Diego, which sees an average of 80,000 vehicles traveling between the cities every day.
The projectile was fired as part of a firepower demonstration during celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US Marine Corps at its Camp Pendleton base at Oceanside on Saturday.
Ahead of the event, after it was confirmed by the White House that the event would include artillery fire over the highway, Californian Governor Gavin Newsom issued a statement condemning the plan on his official website, saying:
“The President is putting his ego over responsibility with this disregard for public safety. Firing live rounds over a busy highway isn’t just wrong – it’s dangerous. Using our military to intimidate people you disagree with isn’t strength – it’s reckless, it’s disrespectful, and it’s beneath the office he holds. Law and order? This is chaos and confusion.”
The detonation took place above Interstate 5 in San Diego County, despite state governor Gavin Newsom warning the Trump administration about the dangers of using live munitions at the Marine Corps’ 250th anniversary.
Prior to the event a spokesperson from Camp Pendleton said that the live firing over the highway was “a routine occurrence.” However, Newsom and the CHP were taking no chances, closing a 27-kilometer (17-mile) stretch of the highway during the period of Saturday’s event – a move that resulted in severe traffic delays through the morning and early afternoon.
Although no one was injured several vehicles including those belonging to Vance’s protection detail were damaged by fragments, some as long as five or more centimeters (two inches). The highway remained closed for several more hours as investigators collected fragments from the roadway.
Following the incident Newsom wasted no time in attacking the government in a post on his official X channel, which included a photograph of a member of the military handling a couple of 155mm shells. He said: “The shrapnel that hit CHP (California Highway Patrol) vehicles over the weekend from Trump and Vance’s military live-munitions demonstration came from this ordnance. It’s no small thing… This is what the White House thought was fine to fly over civilians on a major freeway.”
He later added another scathing comment for good measure: “Donald Trump and JD Vance put lives at risk to put on a show. If you want to honor our troops, open the government and pay them.”
According to the New York Times, a spokesperson for the First Marine Expeditionary Force based in Camp Pendleton said on Sunday that the incident was under investigation to try to determine the cause of “this unusual event.”
On Monday morning Newsom’s press office wrote on X:
“You accused the Governor of overreacting when he closed a portion of the freeway to protect the public… now we learn… live ordinance detonated early, striking a vehicle on a closed portion of the highway during the event.
“Without a doubt an apology is owed – to not just Californians, but all Americans.”
