Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was relentlessly heckled while attempting to comfort the state’s Black community at a vigil for the victims of a racially motivated shooting, which the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating as a hate crime.
Three people were killed by a gunman at the Dollar General in Jacksonville on Saturday: 52-year-old Angela Michelle Carr, 19-year-old Anolt Joseph “A.J.” Laguerre Jr. and 29-year-old Jerrald De’Shaun Gallion. All of the victims are Black.
DeSantis attempted to address the crowd just one day after the shooting on Sunday when someone in the audience shouted, “You’re not welcome here. These deaths are on your hands.”
The heckler wasn’t far off in their remarks: Democrat Jacksonville councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman revealed on Monday that DeSantis wasn’t even scheduled to speak at the event. “I wanted him to sit down,” she said in an interview with CNN.
“Your policies caused this,” another person yelled. Shouting and booing ultimately silenced the Florida governor.
In recent months, DeSantis has made decisions that many in the Black community say has left them disenfranchised.
In April, DeSantis signed a bill allowing state residents to carry a concealed weapon without a permit, meaning that gun purchasers do not need to undergo training or background checks in order to obtain a firearm.
In January, he blocked the teaching of an Advanced Placement African American studies class in schools across the state, claiming it had a political agenda in advocating for “queer theory” and “abolishing prisons.”
Instead, he opted for instruction that will teach students about how some Black people benefited from slavery. DeSantis is running for president and is campaigning on some of those policies.
The shooting happened just hours after festivities for the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington in Washington D.C. began. It also occurred just one day before the 63rd anniversary of Ax Handle Saturday, a violent riot in Jacksonville in which white residents attacked Black residents with baseball bats and ax handles.
The gunman who opened fire at the Dollar General first arrived at Edward Waters University on Saturday, where students reported he was dressed in tactical gear. The university is considered Florida’s first HBCU.
He fled shortly after being approached by a public safety officer and arrived at the Dollar General store around 1 p.m. He wore a balaclava and carried a handgun along with an AR-15 decorated with swastikas.
At a press conference, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said the shooter authored several manifestors: One to his parents, one to the media and one to federal agents. Waters described the attack as racially motivated.
“He hated Black people,” he said. “The hate that motivated the shooter’s killing spree adds an additional layer of heartbreak.
DeSantis has since directed $1 million to Edward Waters University. Another $100,000 has been allocated to help the victim’s families.
Still, some in the Black community can’t help but question the governor’s motives.
Dream Defenders, a group of young Black and brown activists, posted a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying that DeSantis was booed because he shares “the same white supremacist views as the shooter.”
In an interview with MSNBC, Black Democratic State Rep. Angie Nixon of Jacksonville said, “He had a lot of audacity to come there after he hit the match and fanned the flames.”
Nixon, who is from the city and has close ties to the Black community, added that DeSantis has blood on his hands, explaining how he pursued a redistricting map that split up Black voters.
“At the end of the day, the governor does not care about Black people,” she said.
A GoFundMe launched for Laguerre has amassed just over $17,000 of a $50,000 goal. Another for Carr has reached $1,500 out of $15,000.
