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FL-FEMA official told hurricane damage relief team to bypass homes with Trump signs

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EXCLUSIVE: FEMA Official Ordered Relief Workers To Skip Houses With Trump Signs

https://www.dailywire.com/news/excl...elief-workers-to-skip-houses-with-trump-signs

Whistleblower: ‘It’s almost unbelievable to think that somebody in the federal government would think that’s okay’

By Leif Le Mahieu

Nov 8, 2024 DailyWire.com

A federal disaster relief official ordered workers to bypass the homes of Donald Trump’s supporters as they surveyed damage caused by Hurricane Milton in Florida, according to internal correspondence obtained by The Daily Wire and confirmed by multiple federal employees.

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A FEMA supervisor told workers in a message to “avoid homes advertising Trump” as they canvassed Lake Placid, Florida to identify residents who could qualify for federal aid, internal messages viewed by The Daily Wire reveal. The supervisor, Marn’i Washington, relayed this message both verbally and in a group chat used by the relief team, multiple government employees told The Daily Wire.

The government employees told The Daily Wire that at least 20 homes with Trump signs or flags were skipped from the end of October and into November due to the guidance, meaning they were not given the opportunity to qualify for FEMA assistance. Images shared with The Daily Wire show that houses were skipped over by the workers, who wrote in the government system messages such as: “Trump sign no entry per leadership.”

It is unclear whether the same guidance was issued elsewhere in the country. The employees were part of a Department of Homeland Security surge capacity force team, meaning they volunteered from other DHS agencies to help an understaffed FEMA as it dealt with a second major hurricane in a span of just a few weeks.

“I know they’re short-staffed, I thought we could go help and make a difference,” one of the employees said. “When we got there we were told to discriminate against people. It’s almost unbelievable to think that somebody in the federal government would think that’s okay.”

The employee said it felt wrong to discriminate against Trump supporters when they were at their “most vulnerable.”

“I volunteered to help disaster victims, not discriminate against them,” the employee said. “It didn’t matter if people were black, white, Hispanic, for Trump, for Harris. Everyone deserves the same amount of help.”

The guidance came as the Biden administration was criticized over its sluggish response to Hurricane Helene in rural areas across the country. In Roan Mountain, Tennessee, for example, locals told The Daily Wire it took nearly two weeks for FEMA to show up. The town is located in Carter County, which voted 81% for Trump on Tuesday.

The FEMA agents ordered not to help houses with Trump signs were operating in Highlands County, a deep-red area located in south central Florida that backed Trump by 70% on Tuesday. It was hit with tornadoes, torrential wind and rain, and flooding when Milton hit in October.

In the chat, Washington said that it would be “best practice” to “avoid homes advertising Trump,” according to photos of the messages viewed by The Daily Wire. No explanation was given for this guidance, which included other recommendations like telling the workers to “practice de-escalation and preventative measures,” and to “avoid high salt diets and coffee.”

Photos from the system used by federal relief workers to track what homes they visit showed that relief workers followed Washington’s guidance. Several addresses were marked “not able to access property” with listed explanations such as: “Trump sign no entry per leadership,” “Per leadership no stop Trump flag,” “Trump sign,” and “Trump sign, no contact per leadership.”

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“If they had damage or lost power for over thirty-six hours, it was my duty to inform them of benefits to which they are entitled through FEMA,” one team member wrote in a complaint filed to DHS about the guidance.

Washington is the Disaster Survivor Assistance crew leader for Highland County, a leadership chart reviewed by The Daily Wire shows. She did not respond to multiple phone calls or an email seeking comment on the guidance.

Chad Hershey, Washington’s FEMA supervisor, told The Daily Wire that the agency is looking into the situation.

“We are aware of it and we are taking proper action in this situation currently,” Hershey said.

Pressed to confirm the messages, Hershey said: “We are aware of it and we are taking action at this moment regarding the situation that you’re talking about.”

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Hershey added that FEMA would be providing a fuller statement though none was yet provided by press time. He said that officials in Washington, D.C., would be reaching out to The Daily Wire.

After publication of this story, a FEMA spokesperson told The Daily Wire it was “deeply disturbed” and “horrified” by the employee’s actions, and that it has “taken extreme actions to correct this situation.”

“While we believe this is an isolated incident, we have taken measures to remove the employee from their role and are investigating the matter to prevent this from happening ever again,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “The employee who issued this guidance had no authority and was given no direction to tell teams to avoid these homes and we are reaching out to the people who may have not been reached as a result of this incident.”

“This is a matter that we take extremely seriously and we are doing everything we can to make sure all survivors receive support from FEMA. To date, we have helped over 365,000 households impacted by both Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the state of Florida and have provided over $898 million in direct assistance to survivors.”

“We are horrified that this took place and therefore have taken extreme actions to correct this situation and have ensured that the matter was addressed at all levels. Helping people is what we do best and our workforce across the agency will continue to serve survivors for as long as it takes.”

In addition to the statement, a FEMA spokesman clarified that Washington is not actively working for the agency, pending an investigation.

The guidance was first issued by Washington verbally on October 22, and again in the group chat on October 27, according to one of the federal employees. The Trump-related instructions were deleted from the chat a few days later, photos of the chat reviewed by The Daily Wire show.

By October 30, Washington had started walking back the instructions about skipping Trump supporters’ homes, one of the federal employees told The Daily Wire. The relief workers said Washington denied that homes were being skipped after a meeting with other FEMA administrators.

The employees say that Washington has not been punished for the guidance, but has been shifted to another county in Florida.

The whistleblower complaint says that the Trump guidance further undermines trust in FEMA and its response to the hurricanes.

“This behavior raises significant concerns of discrimination against United States citizens because of their political views,” a copy of the complaint obtained by The Daily Wire said. “These actions not only undermine the integrity of our agency and create a hostile work environment for those who may hold differing political beliefs but they also threaten the very democracy of our country.”
 
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Which is weird, since it was the Trump administration that masterminded and subsidized the shutdowns.

Yes, true but also the continuation and worsening that occurred under Biden and Democratic governors and AGs across the country.
It wasn't our Republican neighbors that wanted people punished over COVID. It was our Democratic ones...

A new Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 48% of voters favor President Joe Biden’s plan to impose a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on the employees of large companies and government agencies. That includes 33% who Strongly Favor the mandate. Forty-eight percent (48%) are opposed to Biden’s vaccine mandate, including 40% who Strongly Oppose the mandate. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Voters are similarly divided over the federal government’s top COVID-19 expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Forty-five percent (45%) view Fauci favorably, including 28% who have a Very Favorable impression of him. Forty-eight percent (48%) have an unfavorable impression of Fauci, including 34% who have a Very Unfavorable view of him.

The even split among voters is the result of deep partisan divisions. While 78% of Democratic voters support the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate plan, only 22% of Republicans and 41% of voters not affiliated with either major party support the vaccine mandate. And many Democrats would support even harsher measures, including fines for Americans who won’t get the COVID-19 vaccine and criminal punishment for vaccine critics.

...

The survey found that 75% of likely Democratic voters – but only 21% of Republicans and 38% of unaffiliated voters – have a favorable opinion of Dr. Fauci. Among other findings of the survey:

– Fifty-eight percent (58%) of voters would oppose a proposal for federal or state governments to fine Americans who choose not to get a COVID-19 vaccine. However, 55% of Democratic voters would support such a proposal, compared to just 19% of Republicans and 25% of unaffiliated voters.

– Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Democratic voters would favor a government policy requiring that citizens remain confined to their homes at all times, except for emergencies, if they refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Such a proposal is opposed by 61% of all likely voters, including 79% of Republicans and 71% of unaffiliated voters.

– Nearly half (48%) of Democratic voters think federal and state governments should be able to fine or imprison individuals who publicly question the efficacy of the existing COVID-19 vaccines on social media, television, radio, or in online or digital publications. Only 27% of all voters – including just 14% of Republicans and 18% of unaffiliated voters – favor criminal punishment of vaccine critics.

– Forty-five percent (45%) of Democrats would favor governments requiring citizens to temporarily live in designated facilities or locations if they refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Such a policy would be opposed by a strong majority (71%) of all voters, with 78% of Republicans and 64% of unaffiliated voters saying they would Strongly Oppose putting the unvaccinated in “designated facilities.”

– While about two-thirds (66%) of likely voters would be against governments using digital devices to track unvaccinated people to ensure that they are quarantined or socially distancing from others, 47% of Democrats favor a government tracking program for those who won’t get the COVID-19 vaccine.

https://www.rasmussenreports.com/pu...s_support_harsh_measures_against_unvaccinated



Quite damning.

And never forget this extremely blatant messaging:

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I wondered what the context was on this. The actual message was posted by the Daily Wire:


https://x.com/realDailyWire/status/1854999583790911770


So in context, this seems to be a "safety" memo. The next line about "de-escalation" leads me to believe that the person who wrote this is a woke snowflake, and their rationale was that some people were angry with FEMA and might confront workers, and that those people would be Trump supporters, so avoid Trump houses.

In practice, the result is discriminatory against Trump supporters. Occam's Razor says that this was just a dumb*ss sending out a message. Another option is that this was an extremely clever and deceptive way to discriminate against Trump supporters while having plausible deniability. It could be a combination of the two, but if I had to guess on the reality of it, I go with dumb*ass snowflake.
 
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I wondered what the context was on this.

Thanks for that, I meant to post that pic in the OP as well, but missed it.

Another option is that this was an extremely clever and deceptive way to discriminate against Trump supporters while having plausible deniability. It could be a combination of the two, but if I had to guess on the reality of it, I go with dumb*ass snowflake.

And of course they didn’t fire the guy who gave the order. This is corruption.

Marn'i Washington.

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Thanks for that, I meant to post that pic in the OP as well, but missed it.





Marn'i Washington.

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Short of an admission or proof that she was doing this to punish Trump supporters as opposed to being a brainwashed snowflake afraid of Trump supporters who might not like FEMA, I tend to look at this as a nothing burger. She is an extremely low level nobody.

"Avoid high salt diets and coffee"? She's also giving out nonsensical health advise. I still go with just standard do-goody airhead.

The big picture of political persecution by TPTB has a lot of bigger fish to fry. Find a memo from the head of FEMA or high level Biden officials, then we can call for prosecutions.
 
Short of an admission or proof that she was doing this to punish Trump supporters as opposed to being a brainwashed snowflake afraid of Trump supporters who might not like FEMA, I tend to look at this as a nothing burger. She is an extremely low level nobody.

"Avoid high salt diets and coffee"? She's also giving out nonsensical health advise. I still go with just standard do-goody airhead.

The big picture of political persecution by TPTB has a lot of bigger fish to fry. Find a memo from the head of FEMA or high level Biden officials, then we can call for prosecutions.

Apparently she's been fired, although most likely just transferred in order to protect her pension etc.

I would guess that she agreed with the edict, but yah, she may very well be the sacrificial lamb in order to protect higher-ups.
 
By the way, this is just another small sample of the weaponization of federal resources that has been discussed by one side but always dismissed by the leftards.
 
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I wondered what the context was on this. The actual message was posted by the Daily Wire:


https://x.com/realDailyWire/status/1854999583790911770


So in context, this seems to be a "safety" memo. The next line about "de-escalation" leads me to believe that the person who wrote this is a woke snowflake, and their rationale was that some people were angry with FEMA and might confront workers, and that those people would be Trump supporters, so avoid Trump houses.

In practice, the result is discriminatory against Trump supporters. Occam's Razor says that this was just a dumb*ss sending out a message. Another option is that this was an extremely clever and deceptive way to discriminate against Trump supporters while having plausible deniability. It could be a combination of the two, but if I had to guess on the reality of it, I go with dumb*ass snowflake.

Claims it was system wide and she was just following orders, apparently.

Looks like a few pounds got added since that first picture was taken.

'Course, I'm not one to talk.

https://x.com/i/status/1856373428133212340


Pretty much what I had inferred from the memo. She claims that there was "political hostility" from people who happened to have Trump signage, so she made a generalization that it was a "community trend".

Now imagine that logic and generalizations being used by other people, and applied to groups other than Trump supporters. Just for safety, you know.
 
Claims it was system wide and she was just following orders, apparently.

Looks like a few pounds got added since that first picture was taken.

'Course, I'm not one to talk.

https://x.com/i/status/1856373428133212340


Yeah....I saw that on my NewBreak app. And the sad think is she thought this somehow made it better. And basically her argument is "Trump supporters are spreading misinformation that FEMA isn't helping so that makes it dangerous for us to help them." :rolleyes: Remember after Hurricane Katrina when Kanye West said "George Bush doesn't care about black people?" Well this lady just proved the Biden administration really DOES think Trump voters are garbage. No excuse. And yeah, she does look less cute in the video. But the ugliness on the inside is the worst part.
 
She claims that there was "political hostility" from people who happened to have Trump signage, so she made a generalization that it was a "community trend".
.

They milked that "Trump supporters are a danger" BS for all it was worth. I only know 1 person that got the $750 that was promised. Everyone else was denied. I saw a few circumstances where people were afraid to mention it, because others would say they were spreading Trump lies and it was endangering FEMA workers by complaining. This is how they are killing free speech and the left is eating it up.

On a tangent, It's sad. I was with the progressives when they said that we spent too much overseas and not enough on local infrastructure during Katrina. Now shout you down if you say that, and they are the party of Cheney.
 
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