Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has made his first public appearance since California officials accused him of orchestrating a recent charter flight transporting a group of immigrants from Texas to Sacramento. It did not say whether the transport was responsible.
Instead, Mr. DeSantis’ office held a purported press conference in Wildwood, Fla., Tuesday morning to sign a bill that would give consumers more control over their online presence. left the stage without being questioned. .
“Okay guys, I’ll be right back,” Mr. DeSantis said, waving to the audience. “Thank you very much. Take care. Bye-bye.”
The Republican presidential candidate’s silence on a high-profile case of national interest is unusual, especially in light of recent sharp attacks on him by Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Thinking about it, that’s unusual. DeSantis typically answers questions from the press after events like Tuesday. His office has not responded to repeated inquiries about whether Florida is delaying flights.
about 30 immigrants arrived in sacramento Two charter flights, one landed on Friday and the other on Monday. He said most of the migrants were from Venezuela and had been recruited for the flight outside the El Paso shelter. Some of them said they were promised help finding jobs.
California officials said the migrants had documents showing their travel had been arranged by the Florida Emergency Management Agency and private contractor Vertle Systems, Inc., and arranged to send two planes of migrants to Florida. He also accused Mr. DeSantis of the plane. Martha’s Vineyard Last year, in a business funded by Florida taxpayers.
For years, Mr. DeSantis and Mr. Newsom have used each other as foils to criticize the supposed extremes of their respective parties. In April Mr Newsom said visited New College of Florida, a public liberal arts institution that Mr. DeSantis is about to establish change shape A stronghold of right-wing ideology. he also TV advertising Attacked Mr. DeSantis in Florida.
Mr DeSantis said: pointed The number of Californians relocating to Florida is partly spurred by the state’s relaxation of restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, he suggested.
On Monday, Mr. Newsom made the latest volley on Twitter. threatened The kidnapping charges against those who organized the Sacramento flight and called Mr. DeSantis “pathetic.” California Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta said investigators were investigating. whether any law has been broken. California Department of Justice officials were seen Monday questioning immigrants as they landed at Sacramento Executive Airport.
Also on Monday, the Texas county sheriff said he was advising prosecutors to file criminal charges over last September’s Martha’s Vineyard flight, but did not say who should be charged. .
Neil Vigdoll Contributed to a report from Old Greenwich, Connecticut.
