California official blasts liberal leaders after discovery of homeless bunker: They 'turned a blind eye'

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Liberal leaders have turned a blind eye to criminals: CA GOP official

California Republican Party vice chairman Peter Kuo weighs in after police found a bunker with $100,000 in stolen goods at a homeless encampment

The vice chairman of the California Republican Party called out the state’s liberal leaders Thursday for "turning a blind eye to criminals" after roughly $100,000 in stolen goods was found in a bunker in a homeless encampment in San Jose. 

Five suspects were arrested in connection to the stolen goods, but one suspect is still at large. 

Peter Kuo, who has lived in San Jose for more than 40 years, said he was not shocked by the discovery of the bunker full of stolen items. 

"Really it's not a surprise simply because the California legislators have been allowing these things to happen," he said on "Fox & Friends."

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Kuo explained to co-host Brian Kilmeade that the discovery of the stolen items came after police found three guns in the bunker. 

He said local residents and news outlets have highlighted the outrage at the ongoing crime and homeless crises.

"They are calling on the city officials to step up the enforcement. But the city officials, on the other hand, turn blind eyes on these criminals," he said.

Kuo added the bunker is likely not a unique incident and warned there could be more than a hundred more like it in the area. 

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Another San Jose resident, Ashley King, said her home has been the target of robbery four times in the past year, with criminals taking trucks and large power equipment. 

"In truth, you feel incredibly powerless," she said on "Fox & Friends First." 

Stolen guns at a homeless encampment's underground bunker in San Jose, Calif. (San Jose Police Department)

"The San Jose Police Department wasn't able to do much after any of the thefts, and so you just start to feel like it's just a part of daily life," she said.

Kuo said the state’s Republican Party is planning to make crime a central issue ahead of the 2022 midterm elections to show California residents the impact of liberal policies.

"We are taking this into a campaign issue in November this year to sort of wake up the residents here in San Jose who have been sleepwalking until the fire is at the front door, so to speak," he explained.

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Kuo said it’s "saddening to no end" to see what judges and city officials have allowed criminals to do in San Jose. 

"It is crazy," he said. "What's going on here in the town that I grew up in, it just makes me very sad."