Fired supervisor accuses FEMA of lying about order to skip pro-Trump houses for hurricane relief
The FEMA hurricane relief supervisor who was fired after being accused of ordering workers to skip pro-Trump houses has spoken out in her defense and is considering legal recourse.
Marn’i Washington was fired from the Federal Emergency Management Agency after a report documented that she had told relief workers to avoid homes with signs supporting President-elect Donald Trump in Lake Placid, Florida.
“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,” said one of the workers to the Daily Wire.
‘The political hostility that was encountered by my team, they just so happened to have the Trump campaign signage.’
Washington went public to accuse FEMA of lying about the incident and claiming to be a scapegoat for wider practices.
“I have information that proves FEMA is lying,” said the 38-year-old to the Daily Mail.
“FEMA preaches avoidance first, and then de-escalation. This is not isolated. This is a colossal event of avoidance,” said Washington in a podcast. “Not just in the state of Florida. You will find avoidance in the Carolinas.”
Washington said that the avoidance doctrine was in response to hostility from some residents who opposed FEMA.
“If you look at the record, there is what you call a community trend. … The political hostility that was encountered by my team, they just so happened to have the Trump campaign signage,” she said.
“If we are noticing on, for example, Mary Street, and we’re greeted with unwelcomed arms or people are coming out with guns blazing, screaming at us, then that’s a street we need to avoid altogether,” she added.
She claimed that she didn’t even vote in the election because she was so busy with her relief work.
“Not all Floridians have been unpleasant, but for the most part, the ones that are very passionate about their disdain for FEMA,” Washington said, “they have no problem expressing it.”
She said she had been on other relief missions where Biden-Harris supporters had expressed hostility to FEMA, and she had employed the same de-escalation techniques with them.
At one point during the hurricane relief mission, FEMA had temporarily suspended efforts following reports that armed militia members were “hunting” FEMA workers over rumors about seized land spreading on social media. Police arrested one man, who was accused of threatening to shoot and kill workers.
FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell said that Washington’s actions were in “clear violation of FEMA’s core values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation.”
Here’s part of the interview with Washington:
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