DeSantis: Don’t Even Think About Looting ‘Given We Are A Second Amendment State’
SAINT AUGUSTINE (FLV) – During an evening update after touring cities across Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis warned that law enforcement is monitoring those who may attempt to take advantage of the vulnerable situation after Hurricane Ian.
“Don’t even think about looting… I can tell you, in the state of Florida, you may never know what is lurking behind someone’s home. I would not want to chance that given we’re a Second Amendment state,” DeSantis said.
At the morning press conference, DeSantis had a similar message after he toured Punta Gorda.
DeSantis said people boarded up their businesses with plywood and wrote messages saying, “you loot we shoot.”
“At the end of the day, we are not going to allow lawlessness to take advantage of this situation. We are a law and order state and this is a law and order community – so do not think you’re going to go take advantage of people who’ve suffered misfortune,” DeSantis said.
Officials previously reported a looting incident occurred at a gas station in Fort Myers.
DeSantis says 85% of customers statewide have power and main outages are Lee and Charlotte counties.
42,000 linemen from utilities across the state are working 24/7 to restore power.
Disaster Assistance
The Florida Division of Emergency Management (FEMA) said individual assistance is now available for Floridians in need of recovery aid due to Hurricane Ian.
Assistance is available for those in the following counties: Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Orange, Osceola, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, and Seminole.
Apply for individual assistance by one of the following:
- Call 1-800-621-3362
- Visit http://DisasterAssistance.gov
- Download the FEMA App: http://ready.gov/fema-app
