JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Three weeks after the racist Dollar General shooting in Jacksonville, groups marched and rallied Saturday to eliminate hate and foster in a community that believes it continues to be a target.
Prior to the shooting that claimed the lives of three people, Gov. Ron DeSantis was criticized for making changes to Florida’s African-American studies curriculum with some people believing that it was the governor’s policies and rhetoric that led to the shooting.
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DeSantis was confronted at an event when a veteran accused the governor of fostering a racist environment. DeSantis rebutted the veteran’s claims, raising his voice and interjecting.
“I’m not going to let you accuse me of criminal activity,” DeSantis said. “I’m not going to take that. You don’t get to come here and blame me for some madman.”
Timothy Robinson was at the rally and said he was welcomed at the DeSantis event but said the mood changed when he started to criticize the Governor.
“Very hurt because they went from celebrating me as a veteran to hating me passionately, and I haven’t felt like that since I was in Iraq driving through the streets of Baghdad,” Robinson said.
We reached out to the governor’s office for comment on Saturday’s rally and haven’t heard back.