DeSantis Gets Into Heated Debate With Black Man About Jacksonville Shooting

Florida Governor and GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis got into a heated exchange with a Black man during a Thursday news conference when he confronted the governor on his policies and how they relate to the "racially motivated" shooting in Jacksonville last month.

DeSantis has faced criticism following the shooting, in which a masked white man fatally shot three Black people inside a store. The attack, which left two men and a woman dead, was definitely "racially motivated," Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said during a news conference.

The gunman used a weapon painted with a swastika to carry out the attack in the Dollar General store, which is in a predominantly African American neighborhood, officials said. The shooter, who had also posted racist messages, then killed himself.

Speaking at Thursday's news conference in Jacksonville, the unidentified man told DeSantis he felt that the governor has "enacted policies that hurt people like myself." He added that DeSantis has "allowed" weapons to be put on the street in the hands of "immature people."

The governor defended himself, saying, "First of all, I did not allow anything with that. I'm not going to let you accuse me of committing criminal activity. I am not going to take that!"

He continued: "You want to have a civil conversation? That's one thing. Try to say that I'm letting—that guy was Baker acted."

DeSantis was referring to the Florida Mental Health Act, commonly called the Baker Act, which allows authorities to involuntarily examine a person who, without treatment, poses a threat to himself or herself or to others.

"You don't get to come here and blame me for some madman that is not appropriate, and I'm not going to accept it," DeSantis said. The man quickly replied, "You have allowed people to hunt people like me." The governor responded, "Oh that is nonsense!"

Newsweek has reached out to DeSantis' campaign and office via email for comment.

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo came to DeSantis' defense during the news conference, saying, "It's terrible.... It's immoral....They try to take advantage of the governor just because he's not the same color as these people [the victims of the shooting]."

Meanwhile, many critics have previously pointed to a bill DeSantis signed into law that allows people to carry concealed weapons without a government permit and went into effect on July 1. They also accused the governor of fueling hate in his state with laws and policies targeting the teaching of Black history.

"Hey, Ron DeSantis: We aren't forgetting about the permitless carry bill you signed," Victor Shi, a delegate for President Joe Biden, wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

He continued: "Nor are we forgetting about the white nationalism & fascism you've bred with your attacks on Black history & the LGBTQ+ community. You have blood on your hands. We are going to make you find out."

On Thursday, political analyst and Dillard University professor Robert Collins told Newsweek that "DeSantis should've dealt with this voter by just thanking him for his opinion, and then he should've simply continued giving his speech. There was no need to get angry and directly engage the voter."

He went on: "DeSantis should describe his plans to close the loopholes in the current gun laws, to make it more difficult for a future mentally unstable shooter, like the Jacksonville shooter, to be able to acquire a gun. He needs to stay calm and talk about policy changes."

Republican strategist Matt Klink also told Newsweek on Thursday, "First, it's important to remember that everything is fair game when you're a governor and particularly a leading Republican candidate for president. Second, it's clear that the questioner has a progressive agenda and that he went out of his way to ask an inflammatory question."

Klink continued: "DeSantis' reaction fits with his blunt, plain spoken approach to answering questions, whether posed by the media or people in the audience. The DeSantis Administration has forcefully addressed issues of public safety and gun violence head-on, and he can cite data that highlights Floridians are safer under his leadership than residents of liberal, Democrat states and cities whose leaders believe they can reduce crime by enacting strict gun control while releasing criminals back onto the street to re-offend.

"Expect Ron DeSantis to forcefully address questions and biased queries throughout his campaign. It served him extremely well as he resoundingly won re-election as Florida's governor and he hopes it will help him as the Republican primary moves closer to first votes in early 2024."

Update 09/07/23, 8:45 p.m. ET: This article was updated to add comment from Klink.