TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is suing leaders of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after workers were told not to offer aid to Florida hurricane victims who support President-elect Donald Trump.
The directive came to light through a series of reports last week revealing a FEMA supervisor told her workers to skip homes that had yard signs supporting the then-Republican presidential nominee. FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell said in a released statement that the employee who made the directive had been fired and called her actions "reprehensible."
However, according to Moody, FEMA leaders conspired to discriminate against Floridians who supported Trump.
Moody cites claims the fired FEMA supervisor made in an interview after the "damning revelations" that "political discrimination" by FEMA isn't isolated to what happened in Florida and has happened across the country.
The attorney general said she is holding FEMA accountable for "violating the civil rights of Floridians" by filing this suit and is seeking punitive damages.
All of this comes as Tropical Storm Sara meanders in the Caribbean, posing a low but possible chance of impacting Florida.
"Hurricane season is not over, and the federal agency in charge of emergency response is embroiled in scandal – caught withholding aid from storm victims in Florida who support President Trump," Moody said in a statement. "I am taking swift legal action to find out how far this political discrimination reaches and to make sure all Americans who fall victim to devastating storms are served, regardless of their political affiliation.”
According to Moody, the fired FEMA worker claimed she was a "scapegoat" for FEMA and similar actions were taken by workers in North Carolina and other areas affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton. At this time, those claims have not been verified as true or not.
Moody included in her complaint an alleged message from the fired employee directing workers to "avoid homes advertising Trump."
RELATED: FEMA fires worker who directed relief workers to skip homes of Trump-supporting hurricane survivors
“It’s unacceptable for the federal government to discriminate against Floridians who voted for Trump, and especially egregious in the aftermath of a hurricane," Florida Gov. Ron Desantis said in a statement. "I’m supportive of this legal action by the Attorney General’s Office, and I have instructed state agencies to likewise take any action necessary to investigate and ensure those who engaged in this behavior are held accountable."
The complaint says in part, “FEMA workers followed these instructions and entered in a government database messages such as ‘Trump sign no entry per leadership.’ According to whistleblowers, ‘at least 20 homes with Trump signs or flags’ in Lake Placid, Florida ‘were skipped from the end of October and into November due to the guidance.’”
For more information and to read the full complaint, click or tap here.