Last night, the DeSantis campaign kicked off a week of barnstorming through Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. During a speech at a church in Iowa, DeSantis touted his Law and Order record.
I wanted to clip just a couple of minutes out of Ron DeSantis' speech at Iowa but it just got too good. This is what leadership looks like. pic.twitter.com/esKESGSu6Y
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) May 31, 2023
Independent journalist and frequent Twitter Spaces panelist, Heather Mullins, took umbrage with this claim. Mullins explained she was in Florida during the summer riots of 2020, and she witnessed rioting firsthand at that time.
I was literally in Florida covering when BLM smashed up businesses and rioted. So much for that “law and order”. You literally have to fact check everything Desantis says because so much of it is BS.
— Heather Mullins (@TalkMullins) May 31, 2023
Tweeps were quick to respond with their own recollection about how events unfolded back in that dreaded summer of violence and rioting.
Funny I live in Florida and saw national guard and heavy police use to stop the riots.
Everywhere else well… pic.twitter.com/GdyEPuX5f3— Lawful Evil™️ (@LawfulEvil5) May 31, 2023
You’ve done a great job debunking the claim that there is zero crime in Florida.
Who made that claim?
— Max, Florida Expert (@MaxNordau) May 31, 2023
That’s why DeSantis called out the Guard and then pushed legislation that made riots much more likely to result in heavy criminal penalties. Maybe you want DeSantis to stop future hurricanes instead of insuring proper responses to those hurricanes?
— Matt Wells (@bigredmatt1011) May 31, 2023
Unfortunately, even with good laws on the books and the best of intentions, crime is bound to happen. There are bad people in this world. Leaders respond quickly to the threat and seek to diffuse danger before it becomes any more violent.
There was a protest in Jacksonville that got violent. It was shut down and the national guard was sent in. In the next special session, Florida passed an anti-rioting bill.
So yes, that's law and order. https://t.co/m5C6QVf9u0
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) May 31, 2023
— David Frank Writes (@David_N_Frank) May 31, 2023
As several Twitter users reminded Mullins, there was indeed a riot in Jacksonville during the summer of 2020. The difference between DeSantis and other Governors, however, was he immediately called out the National Guard and during the next legislative session, tightened rioting laws.
"How dare any crime happen at all"
Tell me, since you covered it so extensively, what was the extent of the damage and disruption compared to other major locations like Minneapolis or DC
— MrMikeD (@Mrmiked42) May 31, 2023
What the hell you are you even on about here? He handled way better than my Governor of Wisconsin did. Who completely screwed it up with Kenosha.
— Jerry Fletcher (@guntotingteabag) May 31, 2023
Certainly even one riot in Jacksonville was too much. Any damage to the property of hard working business owners is uncalled for and should be squashed immediately. Rioting, however went on in places like Minneapolis and Kenosha for weeks, and in retrospect, the events in Florida do not compare.
Didn't he call up the National Guard very quickly, which prevented the ongoing destruction that other states saw? I mean, if you " literally" covered that time, you should know that 🙄
— SuNami 🇺🇸🇺🇸 ✝️✝️🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@nygrlahart) May 31, 2023
Yea they weren’t there when I was.
— Heather Mullins (@TalkMullins) May 31, 2023
To be fair, Mullins did respond to another Twitter user when asked about the National Guard. Mullins stated she was not there to see the National Guard arrive and perhaps this is why she had a different perception of how the rioting happened in Florida. Fair enough.
For clarity's sake, there were other riots, such as in Miami, where police cracked down so hard they were decried afterward.
Did Florida have BLM riots? Yes, you can't pre-arrest people. Did DeSantis and law enforcement let them continue unchecked? Nope.
Law and order.
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) May 31, 2023
"Law and order" doesn't mean there's never any crime. It means crime is dealt with swiftly and appropriately.
You literally have to fact check everything Leftists say because literally all of it is BS.
— Eric Spencer (@JustEric) May 31, 2023
Well, that is true, you do have to fact check “literally everything” the Left says. We here at Twitchy exist to do just that, plus make you laugh a little.
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