Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Warned Would be Looters that Lawful Floridians Will Shoot Back
Jose Nino
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned potential criminals about exploiting the upheaval caused by Hurricane Ian.
He firmly proclaimed, “Don’t even think about looting.”
Hurricane Ian, a Category 4 hurricane, devastated parts of southwest Florida in the last week, leaving 83 people dead.
The displacement caused by the hurricane has opened up new opportunities for depraved individuals to loot businesses and other forms of private property.
On September 30, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office published photos on social media of five individuals who were arrested for looting.
“Sheriff Carmine Marceno means business and has taken a zero tolerance stance on looting. We are patrolling and you will be arrested if you partake in criminal activity,” the sheriff’s office said in a post it made on Facebook.
DeSantis was adamant about his opposition towards anyone considering looting after the hurricane dealt out its devastating damage.
“They boarded up all the businesses, and there are people that wrote on their plywood, ‘you loot, we shoot,'” DeSantis said at a press conference close to Fort Myers. “At the end of the day, we are not going to allow lawlessness to take advantage of this situation. We are a law-and-order state, and this is a law-and-order community, so do not think that you’re going to go take advantage of people who’ve suffered misfortune.”
Later in that same day, DeSantis reiterated his firm law-and-order stance during a press conference in St. Augustine.
“The other thing we’re concerned about, particularly in those areas that were really hard hit, is we want to make sure we’re maintaining law and order,” DeSantis stated. “Don’t even think about looting. Don’t even think about taking advantage of people in this vulnerable situation.”
“I can tell you, in the state of Florida, you never know what may be lurking behind somebody’s home,” DeSantis added. “I would not want to chance that if I were you, given that we’re a Second Amendment state.”
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody stressed that looting would be punished severely in the Sunshine State.
“Florida will not tolerate looters taking advantage of Hurricane Ian to prey on vulnerable Floridians,” Moody posted on Twitter. “They will be arrested and I have asked state attorneys to seek the longest pretrial detention possible to keep them locked up so they cannot commit new crimes.”
Under Ron DeSantis’ leadership, Florida has shown the rest of the nation what ordered liberty looks like. In a time of social chaos and economic unrest, law & order comes a long way. Florida is a solid pro-Second Amendment state. According to Guns & Ammo magazine’s best states for gun owners rankings, Florida is in 25th place. The state has some of the strongest stand your ground protections in the nation, which is a nightmare for most criminals.
Republicans cannot afford to be complacent and allow things to just spontaneously happen. They must be proactive and pass policies that the voters desire, and that more importantly, punish their enemies and maintain public order.
Sitting on the sidelines is no longer an option.
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