ORLANDO, Fla. — Democratic congressional candidate Maxwell Frost confronted Gov. Ron DeSantis about gun violence at an event in Orlando Thursday night, but the governor said, “Nobody wants to hear from you” as security removed Frost.
The confrontation took place at The Plaza Live, where DeSantis was appearing onstage with conservative personality Dave Rubin.
A Sentinel reporter was at the event, during which DeSantis and Rubin did not discuss gun violence during the 40-plus minute interview despite the spate of mass shootings over the past few weeks, including in Buffalo, Uvalde, Texas and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The Plaza Live was the site of a tragic case of gun violence in Orlando, the murder of singer Christina Grimmie six years ago next week.
Frost, a 25-year-old gun control activist who had been involved with the group March For Our Lives, got up and approached the stage shouting, “Gov. DeSantis, we’re losing 100 people a day due to gun violence. Governor, we need you to take action on gun violence. We need to take action. Floridians are dying. Floridians are dying.”
Frost posted a video of the confrontation on Twitter.
DeSantis responded from the stage, “Nobody wants to hear from you. Nobody wants to hear from you.”
Frost was one of five protesters who interrupted the governor during the event. Each, like Frost, was removed by security as the crowd stood up, booed and yelled at them, similar to what happens to protesters at many Donald Trump rallies.
“Did they have to at least pay to get in here?” DeSantis said of the ticketed event, in which ticket prices began at about $50. “I guess people do things a little bit different on that side than we would, but honestly, it’s so ineffective. All you do is tick people off when you have you’re trying to interrupt these events. So keep doing it, you’re just gonna help us.”
DeSantis told the crowd later, following another protester, “For any more of those people that are out here, we’re not going to let them take away your constitutional rights.”
Frost’s protest was similar to Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke’s confrontation of Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in Uvalde.
O’Rourke said to Abbott, “This is on you.” Abbott called O’Rourke a “sick son of a bitch.”
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