A federal disaster relief official directed employees to skip over the homes of Donald Trump supporters while assessing damage from Hurricane Milton in Florida, according to internal documents obtained by The Daily Wire and confirmed by several federal employees.
In messages reviewed by The Daily Wire, FEMA supervisor Marn’i Washington instructed workers to “avoid homes advertising Trump” as they surveyed Lake Placid, Fla., to identify residents who might qualify for federal assistance. The message was reportedly communicated both verbally and in a group chat used by the relief team, according to multiple government employees who spoke to The Daily Wire.
The government 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: “Trump sign no entry per leadership.”
It is unclear whether the same guidance was issued elsewhere in the country. The 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.
“I know they’re short-staffed, I thought we could go help and make a difference,” one of the employees told the Daily Wire. “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.”
The employee, however, felt this blatant political discrimination was wrong.
“I volunteered to help disaster victims, not discriminate against them,” the employee explained. “It didn’t matter if people were black, white, Hispanic, for Trump, for Harris. Everyone deserves the same amount of help.”
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 told The Daily Wire it took nearly two weeks for FEMA to show up. The town is located in Carter County, which voted 81% for Trump on Tuesday.
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.
In the chat, Washington said that it would be “best practice” to “avoid homes advertising Trump,” 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 “practice de-escalation and preventative measures,” and to “avoid high salt diets and coffee.”
Photos from the tracking system used by federal relief workers reveal they complied with a directive to bypass homes with Trump signs, marking some addresses as “not able to access property” with notes like, “Trump sign no entry per leadership” and “Per leadership no stop Trump flag.” A team member filed a complaint with DHS, stating it was their responsibility to inform residents of FEMA benefits, regardless of political displays.
Washington issued the guidance, according to documents, but did not respond to inquiries. FEMA supervisor Chad Hershey confirmed that the agency is investigating, stating, “We are aware of it and taking proper action.”
FEMA is reportedly going to issues a statement about this bombshell.
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