Florida sues former FEMA officials over Hurricane Helene, Milton failures

The state of Florida is suing current and former federal employees personally for allegedly ignoring storm victim households solely because of their political affiliation.

Attorney General Ashley Moody sued current and former Federal Emergency Management Agency officials for “conspiracy to discriminate” against Florida hurricane victims because they expressed support for President-elect Donald Trump.

According to whistleblower reports, FEMA workers in Lake Placid were directed to ignore storm victims in households that displayed Trump signs or flags.

Moody sued Deanne Criswell, FEMA administrator, in her individual capacity, and Marn’i Washington, in her individual capacity, in U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida Fort Pierce Division. The complaint, which demands a trial by jury, alleges they directed federal relief workers to “avoid homes advertising Trump.”

The relief workers were responding to hurricanes Helene and Milton that pummeled Floridians on Sept. 26 and Oct. 9, respectively. Some residents were hit hard by both hurricanes, which devastated multiple counties.

FEMA fired Washington, describing her behavior as “reprehensible,” but Washington says she was used by FEMA as a scapegoat, according to several news reports. Washington also said FEMA agents were given similar instructions in North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. According to the brief, Washington alleges senior FEMA officials who claimed they didn’t know officials were discriminating against Trump supporters “are promoting a ‘lie,’” the complaint states.

“While the facts will continue to come out over the weeks and months, it is already clear that Defendant Washington conspired with senior FEMA officials, as well as those carrying out her orders, to violate the civil rights of Florida citizens,” the brief states, citing federal code that “creates a cause of action for ‘[c]onspiracy to interfere with civil rights.’”

Moody said she filed the lawsuit to hold the agency accountable for violating the civil rights of Floridians. While Florida officials worked with local governments, nonprofit organizations and others to help Floridians recover, FEMA employees “were instructed to deny aid to Trump supporters.”

“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. “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.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis also weighed in, saying, “It’s unacceptable for the federal government to discriminate against Floridians who voted for Trump, and especially egregious in the aftermath of a hurricane. 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 notes that FEMA employees followed instructions allegedly given by Criswell and Washington “and entered in a government database messages such as ‘Trump sign no entry per leadership.’”

According to information from 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.”

Employees who followed “these unlawful instructions included not just FEMA workers but employees of other federal agencies working with FEMA,” the complaint states.

Legal action can be taken against them individually under 42 USC Section 1985 and two of its clauses, the “deprivation clause” and the “support or advocacy clause,” according to the complaint. Both relate to “conspiracies to interfere with civil rights,” depriving a person or class of person equal protection of the law, as well as “injury to a person or their property or the deprivation of a right or privilege to a citizen,” the complaint says.

The fact that the defendants both worked for FEMA at the time does not make them immune from prosecution, the complaint says, because they acted “outside of the scope of their employment,” engaged in a “series of discriminatory acts as opposed to a single action,” among other reasons.

Moody’s lawsuit asks the court to award nominal and punitive damages against the two women and declare that they acted in their individual capacities to conspire to interfere with the civil rights of Floridians.