Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis erupted at a Black audience member during a Jacksonville news conference Thursday after the unidentified man questioned state policies he said have led to the deaths of Black people in the state.
"You have allowed weapons to be put in the street and the hands of immature, hateful people that have caused the deaths of people who were murdered a couple weeks ago," the man said, referring to the racially motivated, fatal shooting of three Black people by a white gunman at a Jacksonville Dollar General late last month.
As the man then began to talk about Trayvon Martin, a Black teen who was fatally shot by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla. in 2012, DeSantis abruptly cut him off.
"First of all, I did not allow anything with that," the 2024 presidential candidate said of the recent shooting. He then told the man he would not accept his accusation and argued that the Jacksonville gunman should have been ruled ineligible to own a firearm under the Florida Mental Health Act.
"I'm not going to let you accuse me of committing criminal activity. I am not going to take that!"
As the exchange intensified, the audience member repeatedly called to DeSantis to "let me finish" and "allow me to speak my truth, sir" as the governor continued to deny the accusations. "You have allowed people to hunt people like me," the man eventually said when DeSantis paused.
"That is nonsense. That is such nonsense," DeSantis replied, rejecting the man's remarks. The man was then escorted out of the room as the Republican launched into a rundown of Florida's crime rate and the audience applauded.
DeSantis signed a bill in April that allowed state residents who legally owned a firearm to carry concealed guns without a permit, legislation that sparked contempt among Democrats. At a vigil for the victims of the Jacksonville shooting, the conservative governor was met with boos and chants of "Black Lives Matter" from the crowd of attendees as he spoke.
“You have allowed people to hunt people like me”:
— The Recount (@therecount) September 7, 2023
A Black audience member gets into a back and forth with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) at a Jacksonville news conference after questioning state policies he says have led to violence against Black people. pic.twitter.com/7G99npsvZ8
