Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd warned new Florida residents not to "vote the stupid way you did up north" during a press conference with Governor Ron DeSantis to introduce his shocking new "anti-riot" law. Via Newsweek:
"This is what we enjoy in Florida. This is the Florida we know and love," Judd said as he held up photographs showing residents at Walt Disney World and the beach.
"We're a special place, and there are millions and millions of people who like to come here. And quite frankly, we like to have them here. So we only want to share one thing as you move in hundreds a day: Welcome to Florida. But don't register to vote and vote the stupid way you did up north, you'll get what they got," the sheriff added, prompting applause from the group of law enforcement officers, lawmakers and state officials gathered.
Judd's remarks were made moments before DeSantis signed the state's controversial "anti-riot" bill into law. The legislation, which was passed in Florida's GOP-controlled Senate last week, contains several provisions that crack down on protests in the Sunshine State.
The law creates new felonies for organizing or participating in a violent demonstration and enhanced penalties for crimes committed during a riot. It also allows authorities to hold arrested protesters without bail until their first court appearance, and grants civil immunity to anyone who drives into protesters blocking a road.
Because FREEDUMB!
How about holding up pictures of the refrigerated morgue trucks that invariably follow major hurricanes in Florida, a state whose Republican leadership plays "see no evil" with climate change?
Or maybe pass out samples of the contaminated water that results from all the tainted aquifers, thanks to Florida government looking the other way as major corporations like Disney World or sugar processors continue to pollute?
How about the medical examiners' pictures of all the people killed by gunshots because of Florida's famously lax gun laws?
How about a bare-bones state unemployment system that leaves residents hanging by a thread during a national emergency?
Yeah, let's have more of that!
And by the way, Sheriff, crime rates went down everywhere in the country last year -- including the states where people register and vote Democratic.
