Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
DeSantis: Insurrection ‘really unfortunate thing’
Remains silent on those who whipped up crowd at pre-riot rally
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that last week’s insurrection “was a really unfortunate thing,” adding that “it was really, really a sad thing to see.”
He condemned the violent actions of people who rampaged through the U.S. Capitol — where he served during his three terms as a member of Congress before winning the gubernatorial election in 2018 — and said he supported arrests that are taking place.
DeSantis was silent about those who encouraged them to travel to Washington, D.C. and who whipped up the insurrectionists at a pre-riot rally. Among those who used inflammatory rhetoric encouraging the people who stormed the Capitol were President Donald Trump, members of Trump’s family, and U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala.
It was part of an effort to stop
the counting of electoral votes that made President-elect Joe Biden’s victory official. DeSantis left a morning news conference on Tuesday in The Villages, devoted mostly to COVID-19, after taking two questions related to violent protests. As he departed, a reporter could be heard shouting, “Governor, should President Trump be held accountable?”
DeSantis said people shouldn’t worry about the FBI warning that protests are planned this weekend in all 50 state capitals and said Florida authorities are prepared to stop any disorder that erupts.
“I don’t want to see that, but if anything is disorderly, we are going to act very quickly. Don’t worry about that,” DeSantis said. “I don’t care why you’re doing it. You’re not doing it here. So if there is any type of disorder we will have the reinforcements there. I don’t know that I’ve gotten anything specific for it, but that would not be advisable for people to want to do that in the state of Florida.”
DeSantis, a staunch supporter of Trump, has supported the contention by the president and many of his followers, that the elections in some Biden states were problematic. Courts, elected officials and many leading Republicans have said there is no evidence to support such claims.
On Tuesday, DeSantis praised the handful of arrests since the Washington riot. “I actually am glad to see some of these people getting arrested from the D.C. thing because I think that the prosecutions will really make a difference,” he said.
He also said there are different level of responsibility among those who massed in Washington. “I think it was a really unfortunate thing. I think that a lot of the people that probably went to that speech were just going to do what they normally do. But those folks who took it to the violent level they need to be held accountable. It’s just unacceptable to do that. It really, really a sad thing to see.”
On Tuesday, the governor repeatedly touted anti-mob legislation he proposed it last year in response to occasional violent protests that erupted as part of the racial reckoning in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd; the vast majority of Florida protests were peaceful.
DeSantis also praised the Capitol Police for handling the pro-Trump riot in a way that avoided much greater loss of life. At least five people died during or because of the riot.