Comic-Con is more than just a hub for all things nerdy. It’s also a sex trafficking hotspot.

Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

CALIFORNIA AG’S OFFICE TARGETS HUMAN TRAFFICKERS AT COMIC-CON

Comic-Con is one of the biggest pop culture events in America, a premier destination for nerds everywhere, attracting thousands of visitors to San Diego.

It’s also, according to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a hotspot for sex trafficking.

Bonta’s California Department of Justice went after both buyers and purveyors of sex trafficking victims during the three-day event, in partnership with both the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office and the San Diego Police Department.

The sting resulted in 14 people being arrested, and 10 victims being “recovered and offered services,” including a 16-year-old, according to a statement from Bonta’s office.

“Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalize on large scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit,” Bonta said in a statement. “These arrests send a clear message to potential offenders that their criminal behavior will not be tolerated.”

According to Bonta’s office, police went undercover as both buyers of sex and as sex traffickers, posting advertisements soliciting sex in order to snare would-be buyers.

“There is no more insidious crime than human trafficking. The coercion and violence which enslaves people for profit and places them into forced labor or sex is criminal,” said San Diego Sheriff Kelly Martinez in a statement.

MCCLINTOCK RECOGNIZED BY CONSERVATIVE TAXPAYER GROUP

Via David Lightman...

Rep. Tom McClintock has been named a “taxpayer friend” by the conservative National Taxpayers Union for his staunch support of austere fiscal measures.

McClintock, R-Elk Grove, got the second highest House score, voting 92% of the time for NTU positions. Only Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, did better.

McClintock has long been a fiscal conservative, and has refused to back earmarks, or specific local projects.

“Tom McClintock’s fiscal career in Congress has been defined by superlatives,” said Pete Sepp, NTU president.

In the 15 years of the group’s ratings, he has received 12 A grades, nine finishes in the top five scorers, and four times as the highest scorer in the entire House.

“To earn an A grade on this scorecard, which is based on hundreds of votes, you have to show up every day with taxpayers foremost on your mind, and that’s exactly what Tom McClintock has done,” Sepp said.

“The difference in earning an excellent score and just a good one almost always comes down to tough votes on government spending. Congressman McClintock knows that federal programs can waste money anywhere, whether at the Education Department or at the Pentagon,” he said.

The highest score is 100%. No one attained that. Senators with scores above 81% or House members who got scores above 87% got the taxpayers’ friend award. The average score was 43%.

THE BEE GETS A NEW STATE WORKER REPORTER

William Melhado is The Sacramento Bee’s new State Worker reporter. He’s tasked with covering the state’s workforce, the politics of labor, and how bureaucracy impacts the people employed by California.

William comes to The Bee from Austin, Texas, where he covered the courts and the LGBTQ+ community for The Texas Tribune. Before that, William was a staff writer for the New Mexico alt-weekly the Santa Fe Reporter. And before that, William taught high school chemistry for five years in New York City, Tanzania and Nepal. In 2016, he graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont after growing up in Colorado.

Outside of the newsroom, William is looking forward to spending time on the American River and in the mountains around Lake Tahoe. He welcomes any and all recommendations for things to explore in the Central Valley.

William hopes to chat with state workers from across California. He can be reached by email (wmelhado@sacbee.com) or phone (303-242-4617).

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I’ve known her a long time, indirectly, not directly, and she was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage, I didn’t know she was Black. Until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants now she wants to be known as Black. So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?”

- Former President Donald Trump, in an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists, discussing Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris, who is Black and Asian American, attended Howard University, a historically Black institution.

Best of The Bee:

• How Kamala Harris helped a California man become the nation’s first undocumented lawyer, via Mathew Miranda.

• University of California admits ‘largest and most diverse class in history’ for fall 2024, via Jennah Pendleton.

• California hopes to bolster AI preparedness with employee training for state workers, via William Melhado.