White supremacist gunman in Florida is only a surprise to people not following DeSantis’ Florida

DeSantis made Florida a safe space for bigots

Turning Point Convention in Florida July 2022

On Saturday, three African Americans were shot to death in Jacksonville, Florida by a 21 year-old white man who—per law enforcement- was motivated by a “hatred of Black people.”  He was armed with a handgun and an AR-15 type weapon that bore a Nazi swastika.

As authorities explained Sunday, the killer had authored manifestos declaring his hate for the Black race and his intentions to kill them. In fact, the terrorist had first attempted to attack an historically Black university in the area but school security apparently caused him to flee. He then went to a nearby Dollar General store and when he entered, he reportedly told, “all the non-Black people to get out” of the store.

This is vile and despicable. But one thing it’s not is surprising given the spike over the past two years of white supremacist activity in Florida—together with GOP Governor Ron DeSantis anti-woke legislation which has demonized Black History as being part of an “indoctrination,” banned diversity programs and more which has all fostered an anti-Black climate in the state.

This is a big part of why the NAACP in May issued a formal travel advisory for Florida  in response to what the organization described as DeSantis' "aggressive attempts to erase Black history and to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools." As NAACP President & CEO Derrick Johnson said so correctly at the time, "Under the leadership of Governor DeSantis, the state of Florida has become hostile to Black Americans.”

But it’s not just DeSantis policies. Under his leadership as governor, white supremacy has exploded in the state. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released a report last fall titled, “Hate in the Sunshine State" that found extremist incidents involving racial hate and antisemitism rose by 71% between 2020 and 2022.

Among the key findings were that “Florida is home to an extensive, interconnected network of white supremacists and other far-right extremists.” As the report documents, in the past two years: “new white supremacist groups have formed, including White Lives Matter, Sunshine State Nationalists, NatSoc Florida and Florida Nationalists, while existing neo-Nazi and accelerationist groups have broadened their audience both online and on the ground activities.”

That explains why between January 2020 to August 2022, there were more than 400 instances of white power propaganda being distributed across the state.  

Backing that up is a recent report by the Southern Poverty Law Center that found in 2022 Florida became  “a hotbed of hatred.” The SPLC noted that in 2022 there was nearly a 40% jump in the emergence of hate and extremist groups in Florida—the second higher increase of any state.

And as the Tampa Bay Times recently reported, the state has seen a migration of people involved in the Jan 6 attack on the Capitol over the past year. Overall, Florida is home to the most people charged in relation to the January 6 insurrection. These people include a leading white supremacist streamer known as “Baked Alaska” who moved to Florida last year. He has welcomed on his platform a parade of antisemitic and racist live streamers, including three who hoisted a Nazi Flag in December.

These vile bigots understand that under DeSantis’ rule, Florida has become a “safe space” for white supremacist. And it’s not just DeSantis’ policies that are inviting the bigots to the state. It’s also his words and actions.

Even DeSantis’ response to the Jacksonville shooting was toothless. He released a video calling the shotting “horrific,”  denounced the shooter as a “scumbag,”  adding, “This was racially motivated. He was targeting people based on their race. That is totally unacceptable.”

So to DeSantis a white supremacist terrorist attack is merely “unacceptable?!” And nowhere did DeSantis denounce the toxic white supremacist ideology that fueled that attack. This is consistent with DeSantis apparent coddling of white extremists.

For example, after a neo-Nazi demonstration in Orlando in January of last year, GOP Senator Rick Scott called it "hateful and anti-Semitic" and said it had "no place in our state." DeSantis responded the next day calling it an attempt by Democrats to "smear" him. And when In July, a group of neo-Nazis marched outside the conservative Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa including with signs supporting DeSantis, he refused to condemn them.

Want to see what a governor does who is serious about addressing white supremacist terror? Look at what New York Governor Kathy Hochul did after the shooting in Buffalo, New York last May by a 19-year-old White supremacist who had targeted Black people in a deadly rampage that left 13 people dead. She quickly denounced that attack as an act of "white supremacy terrorism." Hochul also bluntly stated that “the most serious threat we face as a nation…is white supremacism. It’s white nationalism, and it’s time we confronted it head on.”

But Hochul did far more than just denounce the attack for what it was. In a lesson DeSantis should follow, she signed an executive order within days to establish a new state entity focused on the threat of domestic terrorism together with addressing the role social media was playing in spreading hate. The Executive Order specifically cited the rise in “white supremacist and other like-minded terrorist attacks and plots.”

To back up this commitment, in August 2022, the governor announced that $10 million was being made available to all 57 counties in the state and New York City to address the threat of  such terrorism. At the time, Hochul declared, “In the wake of the horrific white supremacist attack in my hometown of Buffalo, we committed to confronting and eradicating the scourge of domestic terror."

Gov. Hochul—along with the Democratically controlled state legislature-also moved swiftly to save lives from gun violence by enacting a sweeping legislative package. The laws included banning the purchase of semi-automatic rifles by anyone under age 21, closing gun purchase loopholes, strengthening the state’s Red Flag laws and more.

That is what leadership looks like.  Will DeSantis now denounce white supremacy and commit resources to address and neutralize that threat like Gov Hochul? Unlikely. DeSantis moves quickly and boldly when it comes to banning Black history. If only he cared as much about protecting Black lives.

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