{"id":105468,"date":"2024-11-09T00:48:43","date_gmt":"2024-11-09T05:48:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=105468"},"modified":"2024-11-09T00:48:43","modified_gmt":"2024-11-09T05:48:43","slug":"105468","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=105468","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

EXCLUSIVE: FEMA Official Ordered Relief Workers To Skip Houses With Trump Signs<\/a>
\nWhistleblower: \u2018It\u2019s almost unbelievable to think that somebody in the federal government would think that\u2019s okay\u2019<\/p>\n

A federal disaster relief official ordered workers to bypass the homes of Donald Trump\u2019s supporters as they surveyed damage caused by Hurricane Milton in Florida, according to internal correspondence obtained by The Daily Wire and confirmed by multiple federal employees.<\/p>\n

A FEMA supervisor told workers in a message to \u201cavoid homes advertising Trump\u201d as they canvassed Lake Placid, Florida to identify residents who could qualify for federal aid, internal messages viewed by The Daily Wire reveal. The supervisor, Marn\u2019i Washington, relayed this message both verbally and in a group chat used by the relief team, multiple government employees told The Daily Wire.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0government 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 due to the guidance, meaning they were not given the opportunity to qualify for FEMA assistance. Images shared with The Daily Wire show that houses were skipped over by the workers, who wrote in the government system messages such as: \u201cTrump sign no entry per leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is unclear whether the same guidance was issued elsewhere in the country.\u00a0The employees were part of a Department of Homeland Security surge capacity force team, meaning they volunteered from other DHS agencies to help an understaffed FEMA as it dealt with a second major hurricane in a span of just a few weeks.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Microsoft Teams chat used by FEMA workers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI know they\u2019re short-staffed, I thought we could go help and make a difference,\u201d one of the employees said. \u201cWhen we got there we were told to discriminate against people. It\u2019s almost unbelievable to think that somebody in the federal government would think that\u2019s okay.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

The employee said it felt wrong to discriminate against Trump supporters when they were at their \u201cmost vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI volunteered to help disaster victims, not discriminate against them,\u201d the employee said. \u201cIt didn\u2019t matter if people were black, white, Hispanic, for Trump, for Harris. Everyone deserves the same amount of help.\u201d<\/p>\n

The guidance came as the Biden administration was criticized over its sluggish response to Hurricane Helene in rural areas across the country. In Roan Mountain, Tennessee, for example, locals\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0The Daily Wire it took nearly two weeks for FEMA to show up. The town is located in Carter County, which\u00a0voted 81%<\/a>\u00a0for Trump on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The FEMA agents ordered not to help houses with Trump signs were operating in Highlands County, a deep-red area located in south central Florida that backed Trump by 70% on Tuesday. It was hit with tornadoes, torrential wind and rain, and flooding when Milton hit in October.<\/p>\n

In the chat, Washington said that it would be \u201cbest practice\u201d to \u201cavoid homes advertising Trump,\u201d according to photos of the messages viewed by The Daily Wire. No explanation was given for this guidance, which included other recommendations like telling the workers to \u201cpractice de-escalation and preventative measures,\u201d and to \u201cavoid high salt diets and coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photos from the system used by federal relief workers to track what homes they visit showed that relief workers followed Washington\u2019s guidance. Several addresses were marked \u201cnot able to access property\u201d with listed explanations such as: \u201cTrump sign no entry per leadership,\u201d \u201cPer leadership no stop Trump flag,\u201d \u201cTrump sign,\u201d and \u201cTrump sign, no contact per leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

One of the homes skipped by FEMA\/ FEMA app tracking what homes were visited.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIf 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,\u201d one team member wrote in a complaint filed to DHS about the guidance.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Washington is the Disaster Survivor Assistance crew leader for Highland County, a leadership chart reviewed by The Daily Wire shows. She did not respond to multiple phone calls or an email seeking comment on the guidance.<\/p>\n

Chad Hershey, Washington\u2019s FEMA supervisor, told The Daily Wire that the agency is looking into the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are aware of it and we are taking proper action in this situation currently,\u201d Hershey said.<\/p>\n

Pressed to confirm the messages, Hershey said: \u201cWe are aware of it and we are taking action at this moment regarding the situation that you\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

FEMA leadership flowchart identifying Marn\u2019i Washington as head of Highlands crew \/ The Daily Wire<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Hershey added that FEMA would be providing a fuller statement though none was yet provided by press time. He said that officials in Washington, D.C., would be reaching out to The Daily Wire.<\/p>\n

After publication of this story, a FEMA spokesperson told The Daily Wire it was \u201cdeeply disturbed\u201d and \u201chorrified\u201d by the employee\u2019s actions, and that it has \u201ctaken extreme actions to correct this situation.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we believe this is an isolated incident, we have taken measures to remove the employee from their role and are investigating the matter to prevent this from happening ever again,\u201d the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. \u201cThe employee who issued this guidance had no authority and was given no direction to tell teams to avoid these homes and we are reaching out to the people who may have not been reached as a result of this incident.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a matter that we take extremely seriously and we are doing everything we can to make sure all survivors receive support from FEMA. To date, we have helped over 365,000 households impacted by both Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the state of Florida and have provided over $898 million in direct assistance to survivors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are horrified that this took place and therefore have taken extreme actions to correct this situation and have ensured that the matter was addressed at all levels. Helping people is what we do best and our workforce across the agency will continue to serve survivors for as long as it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the statement, a FEMA spokesman clarified that Washington is not actively working for the agency, pending an investigation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The guidance was first issued by Washington verbally on October 22, and again in the group chat on October 27, according to one of the federal employees. The Trump-related instructions were deleted from the chat a few days later, photos of the chat reviewed by The Daily Wire show.<\/p>\n

By October 30, Washington had started walking back the instructions about skipping Trump supporters\u2019 homes, one of the federal employees told The Daily Wire. The relief workers said Washington denied that homes were being skipped after a meeting with other FEMA administrators.<\/p>\n

The employees say that Washington has not been punished for the guidance, but has been shifted to another county in Florida.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The whistleblower complaint says that the Trump guidance further undermines trust in FEMA and its response to the hurricanes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis behavior raises significant concerns of discrimination against United States citizens because of their political views,\u201d a copy of the complaint obtained by The Daily Wire said. \u201cThese 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

This piece has been updated with a statement from FEMA.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EXCLUSIVE: FEMA Official Ordered Relief Workers To Skip Houses With Trump Signs Whistleblower: \u2018It\u2019s almost unbelievable to think that somebody in the federal government would think that\u2019s okay\u2019 A federal disaster relief official ordered workers to bypass the homes of Donald Trump\u2019s supporters as they surveyed damage caused by Hurricane Milton in Florida, according to … Continue reading “”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,9,50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bureaucraps","category-enemies-foreign-domestic","category-goobermint"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=105468"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105469,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105468\/revisions\/105469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=105468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=105468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=105468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}