Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (left) was booed while going up to speak at a vigil for the killings of three black people in Jacksonville (Pictures: AP)
A politician who has cast himself as an anti-woke warrior of sorts was booed while attending a vigil for the racist killings of three black people.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis showed up to speak at a gathering a block away from a Dollar General store in Jacksonville where a 21-year-old opened fire after penning white supremacist writings.
But DeSantis, who is the highest profile challenger to ex-President Donald Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination, did not receive a warm reception from fellow Floridians.
Boo’s drowned out some claps as DeSantis and his wife Casey walked up to microphone before hundreds in the crowd.
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DeSantis began speaking, but Jacksonville city councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman intervened to tell the crowd to listen to him.
‘It ain’t about parties today,’ said Pittman. ‘A bullet don’t know a party.’
DeSantis called the gunman Ryan Christopher Palmeter, who shot dead three and then turned the gun on himself, a ‘major league scumbag’.
‘What he did is totally unacceptable in the state of Florida,’ he said. ‘We are not going to let people be targeted based on their race.’
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at a prayer vigil a day after a white man armed with a high-powered rifle and a handgun killed three black people at a Dollar General store (Picture: Reuters)
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (left) called the gunman a ‘major league scumbag’ (Picture: Reuters)
Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters identified the victims of the Saturday afternoon rampage in the predominately black neighborhood as Angela Carr, 52; Jerrald Gallion, 29; and AJ Laguerre, 19. Carr was sitting in her car, Laguerre was a store worker and Gillion was a customer who entered the business.
Palmeter used an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle as well as a Glock handgun that he bought in recent months despite having a mental health exam in 2017. His father later discovered racist writings ‘of a madman’, a will and a suicide note, according to Waters.
Black leaders said that racist attacks like Palmeter’s have been fueled by rhetoric against ‘wokeness’ as well as DeSantis’ policies. DeSantis has seen through numerous such policies including one for new public school standards to teach that some blacks benefited from slavery because they gained skills.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (center) and his wife Casey *right) bow their heads during a prayer at a vigil for the victims of Saturday’s mass shooting (Picture: AP)
A photograph of shooter Ryan Christopher Palmeter is shown on a video monitor during Sheriff TK Waters’ press conference (Picture: AP)
‘We must be clear, it was not just racially motivated, it was racist violence that has been perpetuated by rhetoric and policies designed to attack black people, period,” said Democratic state Rep Angie Nixon.
DeSantis said the state would be providing financial aide for security at nearby Edward Waters University.
‘Help is on the way. God bless you all,’ said DeSantis, to some claps as he left the event on Sunday.
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was booed at a Jacksonville vigil for three black people shot dead by a 21-year-old white man.