A news conference led by Governor Ron DeSantis in Jacksonville took an intense turn on Thursday when a Black individual in the audience suggested that the governor’s policies had contributed to a racially motivated triple murder in Jacksonville the previous month.
During the Q&A session of the news conference in Jacksonville’s Southside, an Air Force veteran who was not a member of the media expressed his disagreement with DeSantis’ policies and their perceived negative impact on people like himself.
“I believe that your policies have had harmful consequences for people like me,” he began before referencing a recent shooting incident at a Dollar General store in New Town. “You have allowed firearms to end up in the hands of immature and hateful individuals, resulting in the tragic deaths of those individuals a few weeks ago.”
The man requested to finish his statement, but DeSantis interjected, saying, “Firstly, I didn’t allow anything like that.” He raised his voice and pointed at the man, adding, “Excuse me, I won’t stand by while you accuse me of criminal activity. I won’t accept that. If you want to have a civil conversation, that’s one thing… but to suggest that I’m responsible… that individual was subject to the Baker Act. He should have been determined ineligible, but they didn’t involuntarily commit him.”
The man persisted, saying, “Please allow me to share my perspective, sir.”
“No, there is an absolute truth. There’s something about the truth; not everyone possesses their own version of it. You can’t come here and lay blame on me for the actions of a deranged individual. That’s not appropriate, and I won’t entertain it,” DeSantis asserted.
The man responded, “You’ve allowed individuals to victimize people like me.”
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“That’s simply untrue. Such claims are baseless. We’ve done more than anyone to support law enforcement in this state,” DeSantis countered.
Following this exchange, the man was escorted out of the venue.
It’s worth noting that the Orange Park man involved in the racially motivated attack had been temporarily subjected to the Baker Act in 2017, according to Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters. However, he added, “There was nothing illegal about him owning firearms.” The Baker Act allows individuals to be involuntarily detained for a mental health evaluation during a crisis. Typically, a person detained under the Baker Act is disqualified from purchasing firearms.
DeSantis faced criticism for not explicitly labeling the attacker as a racist during a vigil in Jacksonville, where he received jeers from the crowd. During the vigil, he referred to the shooter as “a major-league scumbag” and emphasized, “We will not allow people to be targeted based on their race.”
