Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supervisors reportedly directed aid workers to fly over the homes of Trump supporters during post-Hurricane Milton relief operations in Florida, according to internal communications and federal officials. are.
Marni Washington, a FEMA disaster survivor assistance crew leader in Highland County, has been identified as the supervisor who allegedly issued the order, according to the Daily Wire. The outlet provided a screenshot featuring a leadership flowchart showing the name.
Citing documents reviewed by the newspaper using multiple federal employees, Washington told officials in late October searching for residents of Lake Placid, Fla., to qualify for post-hurricane aid, saying, “President Trump’s billboards “Avoid houses with posted signs,” the newspaper reported.
Exclusive: Internal messages obtained by the Daily Wire show FEMA officials ordered Florida relief workers not to help home with Trump sign pic.twitter.com/o73ejUuYUG
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) November 8, 2024
Washington gave this advice both verbally and in text messages, workers told the Daily Wire. At her direction, at least 20 homes with Trump signs and flags were given away in late October and November for post-hurricane relief, officials said.
The directive to avoid the homes of supporters of President Trump is on a list of “best practices” from the inspector general, which includes “taking frequent breaks and drinking water,” “eating salty foods and drinking coffee.” It also included other safety tips to avoid dehydration, such as “Avoid dehydration.” Screenshot taken by the outlet. (Related: After dumping cash on immigration and diversity, FEMA failed to answer nearly half of calls from hurricane survivors)
According to the Daily Wire, the workers chanted, “‘Trump sign, no trespassing, per leadership’; ‘Trump sign, no stop per leadership Trump flag;’ ‘Trump sign, no stop per leadership.’ The outlet showed a screenshot containing one of those phrases.
Some of the employees, who were part of a voluntary rapid-recruitment force from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), expressed their dissatisfaction to the Daily Wire.
“When we got there, we were told to discriminate against people. It’s almost unbelievable that someone in the federal government would think that’s okay,” one federal employee told the outlet. .
The employee reportedly said, “I volunteered to help the disaster victims, not to discriminate against them.” “It didn’t matter if people were black, white, Hispanic, Trump supporters, Harris supporters. Everyone was entitled to the same amount of aid.”
Washington allegedly provided guidance to workers in Highland County, Florida. 70 percent residents voted for Trump on Tuesday.
She began rescinding the guidelines around October 30, workers told The Daily Wire. They claimed officials denied its existence after a meeting of FEMA leadership.
Workers told the newspaper that Washington was not punished for the coaching charges, but was transferred to another county in Florida.
Hurricane Milton devastated the region less than two weeks after Hurricane Helen made landfall in Florida. Category 3 storm leaves millions without power and causes nearly $50 billion in economic losses, President Biden announces told reporters October 11th.
The Daily Caller reached out to FEMA to confirm this report, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
“We are aware of it and are taking action at this time regarding the situation you are talking about,” Chad Hershey, FEMA supervisor in Washington, confirmed the message obtained by the station. told the Daily Wire after making the request.
The outlet added another statement from FEMA after publication.
“FEMA supports all survivors, regardless of political preference or affiliation, and we are deeply disturbed by the actions of this employee. We believe this is an isolated incident. However, we have taken steps to remove the employee from his role and are investigating the matter to ensure this never happens again,” the statement reads.
Full statement: “FEMA supports all survivors, regardless of political preference or affiliation, and we are deeply disturbed by the actions of this employee. We believe this is an isolated incident. However, we have taken steps to remove the employee from the role.
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) November 8, 2024
“The employee who provided this guidance was not authorized to do so and was not given instructions to direct the team to avoid these homes. “We are taking this matter very seriously and are doing everything we can to ensure all survivors receive assistance from FEMA.”
“We are horrified that this happened and have taken extreme action to rectify this situation and ensure this issue is addressed at all levels,” FEMA said. said.
