(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) MSNBC Host Joy Reid smeared Ron DeSantis as a “segregationist” after his announcement warning looters that they may face armed resistance, as Florida is “a Second Amendment state.”
“We want to make sure we’re maintaining law and order,” DeSantis said. “Don’t even think about looting. Don’t eve think about taking advantage of people in this vulnerable situation.”
Reid compared DeSantis to Miami’s former sheriff, Walter Headley, who used heavy-handed tactics to suppress race riots in 1967, saying “when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” Newsbusters reported.
“When the looting starts, the shooting starts.”—segregationist Miami sheriff Walter E. Headley, 1967
Didn’t take DeSantis long to return to form.https://t.co/8FJKyzQY1G https://t.co/uS5jbrx29S
— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid 😷 (@JoyAnnReid) October 1, 2022
Reid also linked to an NPR story decrying Trump when he made the comment in late May 2020 at the beginning of the Black Lives Matter riots.
The former Miami police chief used the phrase in the midst of hearings on crime in the city, which hearkens back to Eugene “Bull” Connor, who was a notorious public safety commissioner in Birmingham, Alabama.
Connor was a reported segregationist who used police dogs and fire hoses against civil rights demonstrators.
Reid did not explain what was racist about DeSantis’s request, however—a question that was burning in the minds of many Twitter users.
Joy Reid: “What? We can’t loot with impunity? How dare Desantis tell potential thieves they may be at risk if they decide to capitalize on someone’s tragedy!”.
— Ted (@DoseofReality55) October 1, 2022
What is racist about warning people not to take things that don’t belong to them?
Be specific.
— Jeremy Redfern (@JeremyRedfernFL) October 2, 2022
Damn… you automatically assumed black people would be looting? Sad of you to think so lowly of blacks.
— Barrington Martin II (@_BarringtonII) October 2, 2022
So, if you are so pro-looter, would you mind leaving your doors and windows open and going away for a few days? There are probably some people who might want to obtain a few things.
— justanotherretiredcop🇺🇸🗽❌ (@retiredcop2014) October 1, 2022
