Democratic nominee for Florida governor Charlie Crist is attacking Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis for sending 50 asylum-seeking immigrants to a tiny town of 5168 people on Martha’s Vineyard, saying it’s a violation of the Christian faith.
Crist, who recently resigned his U.S. House seat to focus on the tight campaign full-time, in a new ad cites a Biblical verse to support his claim.
“My faith teaches me that we’re all children of God. That ‘whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him,'” Crist, citing Proverbs 14:31, says in the new campaign video.
“That is lost on Ron DeSantis. For him, it’s always putting politics over people’s lives, lying to migrant children to lure them onto a plane to God knows where.”
The video also includes a clip of a Massachusetts state lawmaker saying, “women and children are being used as political pawns.”
“It makes me sick,” Crist continues, “but not surprising, because that’s who he is.”
Attorneys and legal exerts, and at least one Massachusetts criminal and immigration lawyer, say DeSantis may have opened himself to charges of kidnapping. The Massachusetts U.S. Attorney is conferring with DOJ officials over DeSantis’ actions. California Gov. Gavin Newsom sent Attorney General Merrick Garland a letter urging DOJ open an investigation into DeSantis sending migrants across state lines, reportedly under false pretenses. Newsom suggested kidnapping and RICO charges be considered.
Crist uses the opportunity to also go after DeSantis on abortion, saying his Republican opponent is engaging in these types of acts “to distract from his extreme agenda, telling women that they could not make decisions about their own bodies, banning abortion even in cases of rape or incest. We must come together to defeat him. To build a state we can all be proud, a Florida that works for all.”
On top of the legal, ethical, moral, and religious aspects of using asylum seekers as “political pawns,” Friday night Crist posted documents showing DeSantis paid an Oregon-based company $615,000 to transport the Venezuelan asylum seekers to Martha’s Vineyard, a fact confirmed by the Tampa Bay Times.
Crist has a long history in Florida politics. He first served as a state senator in 1992 as a Republican, and later went on the be then-Governor Jeb Bush’s Education Commissioner, and then, his Attorney General. He served as governor of Florida from 2007-2011, became an independent in 2010, and a Democrat in 2012.
The RealClearPolitics polling average shows DeSantis with a four-point advantage over Crist.
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