Faith leaders in Florida's only majority Black county are calling for an explanation after a local official appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis resigned amid controversy surrounding a photo allegedly showing him wearing Ku Klux Klan garb.
Jeffery Moore, previously the only Republican on the five-member Gadsden County Board of County Commissioners, resigned on Friday and is facing questions from local clergy after the photo allegedly showing him in a KKK robe and hood surfaced, the Tallahassee Democrat reported Tuesday. DeSantis is also facing backlash for appointing Moore to the position in July, according to the paper.
"People are upset," Gadsden County Commissioner Brenda Holt told the Democrat. "I don't know the history of that photo, but I do know that people depend on us in politics to do better. I'm concerned about young people seeing this."
A group of local clergy is planning to hold a press conference in front of the Gadsden County Courthouse on Wednesday morning, according to the Democrat, where they will press both DeSantis and Moore—who offered no reason for stepping down in his resignation letter—to take ownership of the picture or deny it.
The offending photo, obtained by the Democrat, shows a smiling man younger than Moore holding his arms out while clad in a pointed hood and white robe marked with what appears to be the insignia of the white supremacist group. In the background, a cardboard cutout of a skeleton looks to be hanging from the wall. Others around him are holding drinks and appear to be wearing costumes, suggesting the photo was taken during a Halloween party.
Tracey Stallworth, a pastor who lives in Moore's district, told the paper that while the photo "appears to be him," she and other members of the clergy will ask for an explanation.
"We deserve that," said Stallworth, calling the incident "a sad time" for the county.
Gadsden County is located in the Florida panhandle bordering Georgia and is 55 percent Black, according to Census figures.
Moore, a resident of Havana, is a former tax law specialist with the Florida Department of Revenue who has also served as chair of the Gadsden Soil and Water Conservation District, according to a press release from DeSantis' office announcing his appointment to a vacancy to the county's board of commissioners.
Previously, Michael Ertel, who was appointed secretary of state by DeSantis, resigned in 2019 after a years-old photo of him emerged wearing blackface as a Hurricane Katrina victim Halloween photo.
Newsweek reached out to the offices of Moore and DeSantis for comment.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Jake Thomas is a Newsweek night reporter based in Portland, Oregon. His focus is U.S. national politics, crime and public ... Read more
