Igniting Hope: Powerful Voices at the New California State Convention
- Elisa Ballard
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Redding, CA – January 22–24, 2026
Over three electric days at the Red Lion Hotel in Redding, nearly 300 fired-up patriots gathered for the New California State Convention. This wasn’t just another political meeting—it was a rallying cry for a bold vision: splitting California into two states. “Old California” would keep the coastal and government power centers (San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, and Los Angeles), while the rest of the state would rise as New California, the potential 51st state with its own fresh constitution.
Led by founder and president Paul Preston, the movement draws on Article IV, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence’s call to alter or abolish governments that trample unalienable rights. Preston didn’t mince words: California’s current leadership has enabled rampant problems, including what he called the largest sex-trafficking operation in the state. “We’re going to stop it in New California,” he declared. “The Founding Fathers knew this day would come.” New California formally declared independence on January 15, 2018, and has since drafted its own constitution, arguing the 1879 California Constitution—amended over 525 times—has become bloated and unworkable.
Joe Hoft: Exposing Media Lies and Election Battles
Friday’s opening speaker, Joe Hoft—co-founder of The Gateway Pundit (a conservative powerhouse with ~23 million monthly visits)—delivered a wake-up call on media manipulation. He revealed he’s working on a new book and documentary spotlighting five January 6 defendants who, he says, endured prison abuse while the mainstream media pushed a false narrative against the Proud Boys.
Hoft accused globalist-funded NGOs of controlling media outlets that demonized President Trump while idolizing Obama (citing pallets of cash sent to Iran and the Russia-collusion hoax). He highlighted the near-total media blackout on Tina Peters, the 70-year-old Colorado clerk and Gold Star mother sentenced to nine years for trying to preserve 2020 election records. Despite President Trump’s December 2025 pardon (symbolic, as it applies only to federal crimes), Peters remains incarcerated while her appeal is pending. Hoft urged the crowd to spread truth person-to-person and, echoing his mother’s wisdom, to pray: “We’re in a spiritual battle—prayer is the answer.”
Lara Logan: Fearless Truth-Telling from the Front Lines
The keynote speaker, award-winning journalist Lara Logan—veteran of war zones and former CBS/60 Minutes correspondent—brought the house down with unflinching clarity. “I always knew why I was born,” she said, recounting divine appointments that shaped her worldview, like the geologist who explained we’re actually in a carbon dioxide drought—a stark contrast to claims that CO₂ is a poison.
Logan stressed the five essential questions of journalism—Who? What? When? Where? Why?—and applied them to disturbing patterns: ANTIFA rioters appearing drug-fueled, cartels potentially supplying protesters to keep them agitated at night, and the disappearance of on-the-ground foreign reporting. She warned that Western civilization faces existential threats, describing Islam as a combined religious-political system, cartels as the “army of the Deep State” serving China and Iran, and George Soros’ Open Society Foundation as pushing open borders to weaken nations.
Then came her most explosive claim: “Children are the currency of the world.” Logan alleged that film, music, and sports industries provide cover for elite child trafficking worldwide. She also condemned gender transition procedures on minors as a deliberate attack on fertility and human identity, and warned of globalist plans to depopulate and enslave humanity while erasing borders and faith.
Logan closed with a call for accountability: prosecutions for figures like Dr. Fauci and journalists who knowingly lied, even demanding they return their awards.
Chriss Street: California’s Financial Reckoning
CFO Chriss Street broke down grim economic realities: California’s high earners are fleeing due to crushing taxes and regulations, leaving Governor Newsom facing massive deficits. Street exposed nonprofit proliferation—1,278 in Shasta County alone for just 200,000 residents—as a retirement scheme for public employees who secure government contracts through insider networks.
Authors Don Wilson and Kathleen Goble also spoke (details in a forthcoming article).
As the convention wrapped, Paul Preston announced a letter to President Trump would be delivered to the White House this week.
The energy in Redding was unmistakable: a mix of outrage, clarity, and genuine hope. For attendees, New California isn’t just an idea—it’s the path forward.