Three men in shirts referencing Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” showed up at San Francisco City Hall on Friday demanding access to city files, authorities said.
The men are not believed to actually be DOGE representatives, the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
The men, who were also wearing “Make America Great Again” hats, entered multiple offices in city hall around 12 p.m. local time, demanding employees turn over digital information related to alleged wasteful government spending and fraud, the sheriff’s office said.
Citizens cast their vote for presidential and congressional elections at Department of Elections in the City Hall of San Francisco, California, United States on November 5, 2024. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Anadolu via Getty Images
The employees refused and called sheriff’s deputies. By the time authorities had arrived, the three men had already left the building.
The sheriff’s office is now reviewing surveillance videos “and using other investigative tools to pursue leads,” the office said in its statement.
DOGE, led by billionaire Musk, is the point man for President Donald Trump’s promise to trim the federal government in Washington, D.C. Since Trump’s inauguration, Musk has trumpeted slashing billions of dollars from agency budgets, led the buyout offer for thousands of federal employees and vowed to “delete” entire agencies.
DOGE’s activities have led to numerous federal lawsuits.