Residents of a small Florida city were shocked to find out their homes were skipped by federal relief workers because of a directive from a FEMA supervisor telling them to bypass the homes of people with Trump flags or signs.
Reactions poured in from Lake Placid residents after they learned that a now-fired FEMA supervisor had instructed relief workers to “avoid homes advertising Trump” as they canvassed the community in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. Whistleblowers told The Daily Wire, which first reported on the guidance, that at least 20 homes were skipped from late October and into early November because of the directive.
Angela Wrench, whose property was damaged by tornadoes caused by Hurricane Milton last month, said it was wrong that her home was skipped because of the Trump flag in her yard.
“I think it’s horrible. I think it’s a horrible thing that anybody thought that was OK,” Wrench told local outlet WFLA. “We pay our taxes. We have just as much right to that money as anyone. It shouldn’t have anything to do with our political beliefs, none whatsoever.”
Wrench said that FEMA showed up to her house on Saturday, a day after The Daily Wire report was published.
“I said ‘you are here because of the news, correct?’ They didn’t want to answer right away but one of them did finally say ‘yes, we’re just here trying to make things right’,” she told WFLA.
Jack Wolfe, another resident of Lake Placid, said that relief decisions should not be made for political reasons.
“It was disappointing. I know that there’s a lot of people with a lot of emotions when it comes to this time of year for election and I don’t think it should matter how you voted or who you are,” Wolfe told WFLA.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell announced Saturday that Marn’i Washington, the employee who issued the guidance, had been fired and that the agency believed it was an “isolated incident.”
Local and federal officials were quick to condemn the actions of Washington. Lake Placid is located in Highlands County, which voted 70% for Trump in last week’s election.
Congressman Scott Franklin, who represents Lake Placid, called the guidance “utterly disgusting” and told his constituents to call his office if they had issues with FEMA.
“I commend the individual who had the courage to bring this to light, as well as FEMA for taking swift action to terminate the supervisor who instructed disaster relief workers in Highlands County to ‘avoid’ assisting pro-Trump homes,” he said.
“FEMA must conduct a full investigation,” he added. “Similar reports have surfaced across the state, and those responsible must be held accountable. The agency must take immediate action to ensure this never happens again.”
Highlands County commissioner Chris Campbell said that residents of Lake Placid would be receiving more visits from FEMA.
“For a supervisor of FEMA to do that, I think it was just appalling. It shocked everyone,” Campbell said. “They’re going to knock on every door, whether they applied for assistance or not, whether they received it or not and just go through the process.”
Investigations at the state and federal level have been launched into FEMA and Criswell has been asked to speak in front of the House Oversight Committee on November 19.