A rash of Bay Area smash-and-grab thefts hasn't escaped one of California's biggest critics – former President Donald Trump.
Trump called the coordinated robberies and subsequent fallout "not even believable" in a short statement issued on Tuesday.
The Republican also urged federal action to combat the viral crime wave.
"If Democrats don't immediately stop smash-and-grab robberies, which are taking place in their cities, the National Guard must be called out," Trump said.
"There has never been such a thing that has happened in our Country. Large numbers of stores are leaving San Francisco and other cities."
Several such incidents have occurred across the Bay Area in the last two weeks, including San Francisco, San Jose, Concord, Walnut Creek, Antioch and Santa Clara. Similar robberies took place in Southern California.
Some Bay Area cities have already kickstarted reactionary measures like public license plate readers and additional police officers, among others.
Trump also claimed that "chains are closing most of their stories," but didn't specify which ones.
The most public example of chains closing up shop in the Bay Area is Walgreens, which in October announced the closing of several stores due to "ongoing organized retail crime." However, data released by the San Francisco Police Department has caused public officials to question that reasoning.
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