California Gov. Gavin Newsom has canceled the public capitol’s annual Christmas tree lighting, instead opting to host a virtual event amid planned pro-Palestinian protests, according to a report.

According to KCRA, Wednesday’s 92nd Annual California State Capitol Tree Lighting was initially expected to be an in-person event in Sacramento, but a decision was made to make the event virtual because of planned protests.

An announcement posted on Tuesday by the governor’s office states that a pre-recorded virtual ceremony will be released on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

The California Highway Patrol barricaded most of the capitol building’s west side lawn, where the tree is located, according to the report. Several signs read “KEEP OUT, NO TRESPASSING.”

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Originally, Newsom was planning to welcome people to the event, which was supposed to feature multiple business stands and concert performances.

A spokesperson for Newsom told the outlet that nationwide protests were a factor in the decision to hold the event virtually.

“As we continue to see protests across the country impacting the safety of events of all scales — and for the safety and security of all participating members and guests including children and families — the ceremony this year will be virtual,” the spokesperson said. “The program is unchanged and viewers can tune in Wednesday evening to watch this year’s festivities.”

The Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights as well as several other organizations had planned to hold a protest at the event, telling the outlet they wanted to “out Gov. Gavin Newsom for hiding from the public because he doesn’t want to face their anger at his shameful stance in regard to the genocide in Gaza.”

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom (Fox News Digital)

“Governor Newsom decided to cancel the tree lighting ceremony rather than face the public that is enraged by his shameful silence on the genocide in Gaza. This certainly doesn’t add up with his past stance with Native Americans,” said Yassar Dahbour of Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights.

California GOP Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson said in a statement to Fox News Digital that Newsom is a “modern-day Grinch.”

“Gavin Newsom still won’t condemn the pro-Hamas and antisemitic protests that shut down his own party’s recent convention, so it’s no surprise he’d prefer to hide from a tree lighting where he risked being confronted by more protesters. Newsom is a modern-day Grinch whose cowardice is punishing the public and small businesses who’d planned on celebrating this joyous occasion,” said Patterson.

James Gallagher, California Assembly Republican Leader, said in a statement to Fox News Digital that the decision is “pathetic.”

“First Newsom was silent when terrorist sympathizers stormed his own party convention, and now he’s allowed pro-Hamas radicals to intimidate him into canceling an event that was supposed to spread a message of unity, joy and peace. It’s pathetic that he doesn’t have the spine to stand up to these extremists,” said Gallagher.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard a conservative challenge to Congress’ broad power to tax corporate wealth — a case that could shield wealthy Americans who invest their money overseas.

During two hours of argument, most of the justices said they wanted to resolve the tax dispute narrowly without making major changes in the law. But they also revealed a deep disagreement over the federal government’s taxing power.

The 16th Amendment in 1913 said Congress had the power to “collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived.” That Progressive-era amendment was adopted to reverse a conservative Supreme Court ruling from 1890 that had struck down income taxes.

Undeterred, the court’s conservative majority in 1920 sharply limited the government’s taxing authority by ruling that wealth held in stocks could not be taxed as income if the taxpayer had not “realized or received any income” from their stock holdings.

That century-old dispute was at the center of Tuesday’s argument. Should federal income taxes be limited to “realized” gains, such as stock dividends and capital gains? Or can Congress continue to assess taxes on major investors in partnerships and corporations, even if they did not receive an annual share of the profits?

Washington lawyer Andrew Grossman urged the conservative majority to rule broadly that “unrealized gains are not income” and may not be taxed. “This is an essential check on Congress’ power to tax property,” he said.

He was representing Charles and Kathleen Moore, a Washington state couple who in 2005 invested $40,000 in a company in India that makes farm equipment. The company made healthy profits, but they did not receive dividends.

When the Republican-controlled Congress passed tax cuts in 2017, it included a one-time “mandatory repatriation tax” for American investors in foreign corporations because they would benefit from other changes in the law. This provision was due to bring in $330 billion.

The Moores paid their $14,729 tax bill and then sued. Their case, Moore vs. United States, put a spotlight on the question of whether the Supreme Court would prohibit new “wealth taxes” that have been proposed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and other progressives.

U.S. Solicitor Gen. Elizabeth B. Prelogar strongly defended Congress’ taxing power on Tuesday and said investors have long been required to pay taxes on their shares of corporate wealth, even if they received no dividends. She said the 1920 decision limiting taxes on “unrealized” income has not been followed in later rulings, and the court should not return to it now.

She said it “would cause a sea change” in the tax code and “cost several trillion dollars in lost tax revenue” if the court were to strike down the taxes on undistributed business earnings.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson pointed out the 16th Amendment does not include such a strict limit based on the idea of “realization.” It says taxes may be imposed on incomes “from whatever source derived.”

At a key moment in the argument, Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh suggested the tax paid by the Moores could be upheld on the grounds that they were major shareholders in a company that had annual profits.

“There was realized income here, and it can be attributed to the shareholders,” he said. “We have long held Congress may attribute the income of the corporation to the shareholders.”

Afterward, several justices said the court could rule narrowly by following Kavanaugh’s proposal.

EXCLUSIVE: President Biden’s re-election campaign is expected to raise more than $15 million this week as he travels across the nation for multiple high-profile and star-studded fundraising events, Fox News Digital has learned.

Two sources close to the campaign and familiar with the president’s fundraising efforts told Fox News Digital that the more $15 million will also include small-dollar donations.

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The president attended a fundraising event in Boston, Mass. on Tuesday, which featured a concert by singer-songwriter James Taylor. Front-row tickets sold for $7,500 per seat. 

James Taylor performing on stage. (Shannon Finney)

The president is expected to attend fundraising events in Washington D.C. on Thursday near the White House.

Steven Spielberg and Sasha Speilberg attend the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 24, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California.  (Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic)

And on Friday, the president will travel to Los Angeles for a Hollywood fundraiser hosted by Steven Spielberg, Shona Rhimes, CEO of Paramount Pictures Jim Gianopulos, actor and filmmaker Rob Reiner, and others.

The Los Angeles event will be at the home of interior designer Michael Smith and his partner James Costos, who had served as former President Obama’s ambassador to Spain.

Director Rob Reiner (R) and wife Michelle Singer Reiner. (Barry King/FilmMagic)

Top tickets for that event are said to be $930,000 each. 

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Lenny Kravitz is expected to perform at the event. 

Lenny Kravitz speaks onstage during the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 27, 2023 in Hollywood, California.  (Jeff Kravitz)

Barbara Streisand and a slew of other celebrities are expected to attend. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is also expected to attend the event.

Former Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The expected fundraising haul comes after the campaign’s strongest grassroots fundraising month since the president announced his re-election campaign, a Biden campaign official told Fox News Digital.

Campaign officials told Fox News Digital that in the third quarter, 97% of all donations were under $200 and the average grassroots contribution was $40.

The campaign announced in October that it raised more than $71 million in the third quarter of 2023. The campaign, as of October, also had nearly $91 million in cash on hand, with officials calling that figure “the highest total amassed by any Democratic candidate in history at this point in the cycle.”