Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has filed a lawsuit against current and former officials of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), after they directed workers to overlook storm victims who supported President-elect Donald Trump.
The accusations surfaced after whistleblowers claimed that FEMA staff in Lake Placid, Florida, were instructed to bypass homes of storm victims displaying support for Trump. According to the lawsuit, “FEMA workers followed these instructions and entered into a government database messages such as ‘Trump sign no entry per leadership.’” Whistleblowers reportedly indicated that “at least 20 homes with Trump signs or flags” in Lake Placid were skipped from late October through November due to this directive.
Moody pledged to investigate the claims, stressing the ongoing risk posed by hurricane season to Floridians. “Hurricane season is not over, and the federal agency in charge of emergency response is embroiled in scandal – caught withholding aid from storm victims in Florida who support President Trump,” she said. “I am taking swift legal action to find out how far this political discrimination reaches and to make sure all Americans who fall victim to devastating storms are served, regardless of their political affiliation.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis voiced support for Moody’s legal action, instructing state agencies to take “any action necessary” to investigate and hold accountable those responsible. “It’s unacceptable for the federal government to discriminate against Floridians who voted for Trump, and especially egregious in the aftermath of a hurricane,” DeSantis said.
Marn’i Washington, the dismissed FEMA supervisor named in the lawsuit, claimed her actions aligned with agency directives and that she was being unfairly targeted. “Why is this coming down on me? I am the person that jotted down the notes from my superiors and my notation in [Microsoft] Teams chat was exposed from their search capacity team,” Washington told Fox News on Wednesday.
The lawsuit seeks punitive damages against Washington and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell in their individual capacities.
Read the lawsuit here.
