Ron DeSantis Unloads After Being Blamed for Racist Jacksonville Mass Shooting and 'Allowing Weapons to Fill the Street'
Gov. Ron DeSantis lax gun policies were called out by an audience member in Jacksonville.
Sept. 8 2023, Published 4:00 p.m. ET
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sparred with an outraged man who blamed the deaths of three Black citizens on the Republican's "anti-woke" policies, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The man referenced the August 26 mass shooting in Jacksonville, in which a white gunman, whose weapon was painted with swastikas, opened fire on innocent civilians at a Dollar General store.
DeSantis sparred with an audience member who called him out for pro-gun policies.
The heated exchange went down at a press event the governor held at an Irish Pub in Jacksonville on Thursday. While DeSantis desperately tried to appeal to voters at the Irish pub, he looked anything but cool during the shouting match.
After the GOP candidate vowed to keep businesses and schools open despite the rising number of COVID cases in his state, DeSantis opened the floor for questions from the press. A Black man from the crowd then called out the governor for allowing "weapons to fill the street," according to NBC News.
DeSantis dismissed the man's concerns in the wake of the Jacksonville mass shooting as 'nonsense.'
The man continued to slam DeSantis and his pro-second amendment policies that he said emboldened "immature, hateful people that have caused the deaths of the people who were murdered a few weeks ago."
The governor quipped back, "I did not allow anything with that."
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The audience member accused DeSantis of pushing policies that allowed 'immature, hateful people' to access guns.
DeSantis continued his tough guy act and continued to fire back at the unidentified man. "I'm not going to let you accuse me of committing criminal activity," DeSantis said. "I'm not going to take that."
Unfazed by the governor's remarks, the man doubled down on his claims and said, "You have allowed people to hunt people like me."
At a candlelight vigil for Jacksonville victims, the mourning crowd greeted DeSantis with boos.
Clearly annoyed, DeSantis responded, "Oh, that is nonsense. That is such nonsense," before he condemned the audience member.
"You don't get to come here and blame me for some madman," DeSantis continued as he claimed the gunman should have been institutionalized before he committed the heinous act. "That is inappropriate."
DeSantis' security followed his remarks by swiftly removing the man from the event, all the while the governor baselessly claimed to the crowd that Americans were flocking to Florida because of his public safety policies.
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DeSantis' comment appeared to leave out a recent travel advisory issued by the NAACP to Black Americans, in which the civil rights organization cautioned travel to the Sunshine State due to the governor's "anti-woke" policies.
As governor, DeSantis repealed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies and supported a controversial overhaul of the public education curriculum, which was updated to teach students how slaves "gained skills" that allegedly benefited them.
An avid advocate against gun reform, DeSantis told his constituents "You loot, we shoot" during a press event for Hurricane Idalia.
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