by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News November 10, 2024

FEMA has fired an official in Florida who instructed agency workers responding to hurricane Milton damage to bypass homes with signs supporting Donald Trump.

Marn’i Washington, who was the Disaster Survivor Assistance crew leader for Highlands County, instructed workers in a group chat with relief workers to “avoid homes advertising Trump,” as they were canvassing Lake Placid to identify residents who could qualify for federal aid.

Message from FEMA official to workers in Highlands County, Florida.

Highlands County went 70 percent for Trump on Tuesday.

One FEMA employees wrote in a whistleblower complaint filed to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS): “If they had damage or lost power for over thirty-six hours, it was my duty to inform them of benefits to which they are entitled through FEMA.”

The employee added, “This behavior raises significant concerns of discrimination against United States citizens because of their political views… . These actions not only undermine the integrity of our agency and create a hostile work environment for those who may hold differing political beliefs but they also threaten the very democracy of our country.”

FEMA employees told The Daily Wire that “at least 20 homes with Trump signs or flags” were skipped from the end of October and into November — about the same time as the final weeks of the 2024 presidential election.

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Images shared with The Daily Wire show that houses were skipped over, with workers writing in the government system messages such as: “Trump sign no entry per leadership,” “Per leadership no stop Trump flag,” “Trump sign,” and “Trump sign, no contact per leadership.”

One of the employees told the outlet: “I know they’re short-staffed, I thought we could go help and make a difference,” adding, “When we got there we were told to discriminate against people. It’s almost unbelievable to think that somebody in the federal government would think that’s okay.”

“I volunteered to help disaster victims, not discriminate against them,” the employee added. “It didn’t matter if people were black, white, Hispanic, for Trump, for Harris. Everyone deserves the same amount of help.”

After The Daily Wire report, FEMA employees said Washington had first been shifted to another county in Florida.

FEMA Director Deanne Criswell announced Saturday that Washington had been fired.

Criswell said in a statement:

“More than 22,000 FEMA employees every day adhere to FEMA’s core values and are dedicated to helping people before, during and after disasters, often sacrificing time with their own families to help disaster survivors.

“Recently, a FEMA employee departed from these values to advise her survivor assistance team to not go to homes with yard signs supporting President-elect Trump. This is a clear violation of FEMA’s core values & principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation.

“This was reprehensible. I want to be clear to all of my employees and the American people, this type of behavior and action will not be tolerated at FEMA and we will hold people accountable if they violate these standards of conduct.

“We take our mission to help everyone before, during and after disasters seriously. This employee has been terminated and we have referred the matter to the Office of Special Counsel. I will continue to do everything I can to make sure this never happens again.”

FEMA was slammed for its slow response time after Hurricane Helene hit Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. It took six days after the hurricane for federal disaster relief workers to arrive in North Carolina.

According to the Daily Wire, it took nearly two weeks for FEMA to show up in Roan Mountain, Tennessee, which is located in Carter County and went 81 percent for Trump on Tuesday.

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  FEMA fires official who told workers to skip homes of Trump supporters, WorldTribune.com

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