CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Federal Emergency Management Agency worker who was fired told journalist Roland Martin that workers also skipped homes of Trump supporters in North and South Carolina as part of FEMA’s policy of avoiding potentially hostile situations.
Marni Washington said her directive was as a result of what she calls political hostilities her team experienced in Florida when they were surveying. Washington said, as per FEMA practice, they look at community trends when visiting impacted residents, and if they notice a trend in a specific area, they will issue a directive to keep FEMA teams safe, no matter what the political leaning of a location is.
Washington claimed in this most recent deployment, her team specifically dealt with these problems at homes with Trump signs which is why she said she issued this directive.
In the interview, Washington noted in previous deployments, FEMA teams have issued similar directives for homes with Biden-Harris or Harris-Walz signs due to hostility the crews met. She also claims there have also been similar directives in areas with no political signs.
WCNC Charlotte reached out to the governor's office and FEMA for comment on this. FEMA referred back to its statement from Saturday that partially reads: “This is a clear violation of FEMA’s core values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said. “This was reprehensible.” The governor's office has not responded yet.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, called it “targeted discrimination” of Florida residents who support Trump, said it happened in Florida.
DeSantis said he has directed the Florida Division of Emergency Management to begin an investigation into the matter.
“The blatant weaponization of government by partisan activists in the federal bureaucracy is yet another reason why the Biden-Harris administration is in its final days,” DeSantis said on social media. “New leadership is on the way in DC, and I’m optimistic that these partisan bureaucrats will be fired."
There were no details in FEMA's statement or DeSantis' comments about the time frame or community where the incident occurred. FEMA workers have been in the state helping residents recover from Hurricane Milton, which devastated many Florida communities last month.
Criswell said she is determined to hold employees accountable.
“I will continue to do everything I can to make sure this never happens again,” she said.
