Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took on a heckler during a Thursday press conference in Jacksonville.
While speaking at Culhane’s Irish Pub, a heckler blamed the Florida governor for a shooting in the city late last month.
“First of all, I did not allow anything with that,” DeSantis said as the heckler interjected again. “I’m not going to let you accuse me of committing criminal activity.”
“I am not going to take that.”
DeSantis noted last month’s Jacksonville shooter was placed under a mental health hold years before under the Baker Act.
“He should have been ruled ineligible [to buy a gun], but they didn’t involuntarily commit him and so, they weren’t—” DeSantis said as the heckler continued from the audience.
#NEW: @RonDeSantis absolutely DESTROYS leftist heckler blaming him for the racist murders in Jacksonville. pic.twitter.com/4ezEEYRYU8
"First of all, I did not allow anything with that. Well, listen — excuse me! I’m not going to let you accuse me of committing criminal activity. I…
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) September 7, 2023
The Florida governor and the heckler engaged in a brief back-and-forth as DeSantis insisted there were objective truths about the incident.
“You don’t get to come here and blame me for some madman,” he said. “That is not appropriate and I’m not going to accept it.”
The heckler insisted DeSantis “allowed” the shooting, to which the Florida governor responded “that’s nonsense” and cited a 50-year low in crime in the Sunshine State.
“We have enacted policies so that people have a chance to live in safety. We have attracted people to come to this state in large part because we’ve had a commitment to public safety,” DeSantis said. “So the notion that somehow we’re not supportive of safety is absurd, and we’ve put our money where our mouth.”
“We’ve put support behind policies to hold people accountable who hurt other people,” he concluded. “You haven’t seen us releasing people from prison. When they hurt — when you do the crime, you do the time.”
Following last month’s shooting at a Dollar General in Jacksonville, DeSantis was similarly met by protestors who claimed the Florida governor was responsible for the tragedy. Three black individuals were killed in the shooting in what Florida authorities have claimed was a racially motivated attack.
“Let me tell you, we’re putting parties aside, because it ain’t about parties today,” said Democrat Councilmember Ju’Coby Pittman addressing DeSantis’ protestors. “A bullet don’t know a party. So, don’t get me started.”
“We are not going to let people be targeted based on their race,” DeSantis said. “We are going to stand up and we are going to do what we need to do to make sure that evil does not triumph in the state of Florida.”
