Ron DeSantis
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

With Hurricane Milton bearing down on Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a stern warning to those considering looting in the wake of the storm. Speaking at a briefing at the state’s Emergency Operations Center, the governor emphasized that Florida’s status as a “Second Amendment state” could mean dire consequences for anyone attempting to exploit the chaos.

“This is not going to be an opportunity for folks to take advantage of people,” DeSantis said. “If you think you’re going to go in and loot, you got another thing coming. Now, you go into somebody’s house after the storm passes, thinking that you’re going to be able to commit crimes, you’re going to get in really serious trouble. And quite frankly, you don’t know what’s behind that door in a Second Amendment state.”

DeSantis’s remarks echoed statements he made during past storms, such as Hurricane Idalia in 2023 and Hurricane Ian in 2022. He referenced the well-known slogan, “You loot, we shoot,” which has become a familiar sentiment in the aftermath of disasters. 

“This part of Florida, you’ve got a lot of advocates and some proponents of the Second Amendment,” he said, recalling signs in previous years that warned potential looters against taking advantage of vulnerable communities.

He also highlighted the swift legal action taken against those who attempted to loot in past storms including Hurricane Helene barely two weeks ago. 

“We’ve already brought a lot of people, held people accountable in post Helene, and we will be very swift across all levels of government to throw the book at people,” DeSantis said. He made it clear that both state and local authorities would be vigilant in preventing post-storm lawlessness.

The governor’s message was unambiguous: any attempt to take advantage of Floridians struggling in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton would be met with strong resistance, both from law enforcement and potentially from armed property owners. 

“When you make these bad decisions, you’re opening yourself up to responses from property owners who may be inside that house,” DeSantis warned.

As Hurricane Milton approaches, DeSantis’s words serve as both a caution to would-be criminals and a reassurance to residents that not only will their safety and property be defended in the storm’s aftermath, but if they are forced to defend it personally, they have the legal right to do so.

28 COMMENTS

  1. Ron DeSantis was my top choice after Trump for president. Obviously doing a capable job in hurricane ravished Florida. Vote Red next month!

  2. The really great aspect of this situation is that if you do need to shoot a looter, there is no need to shovel. If the winds don’t blow the carcass away, the flood waters will wash it away. All the security cameras are off line. The police are elsewhere.
    Any neighbors who haven’t evacuated are like minded. They will see nothing and say nothing. All you have to do is shoot and shut up.

    • You would be surprised how long ring and similar will continue to function without power. With that said if the cell network is down it doesn’t typically matter.

        • Assuming direct sabotage isn’t involved 3 to a dozen or so days independent of grid power depending on the unit involved for cell towers. But don’t worry drones will keep an eye on uppity property owners defending their homes from poor refugees or peaceful protestors.

          • “drones will keep an eye on uppity property owners”

            You should move to FL and breathe some free air. It may be temporary, it aint perfect, and lots of folks don’t like it, and are working to reverse it, but for now property owners have the law and the Governor on their side.

            The “turn the whole world into NYC” jihad has been blunted. FL even achieved the miracle of passing selfdefense laws that were not written by lawyers, with lawyers in mind.

            • You may want to review the peaceful protests of the last few years. Fedzilla operates even in Florida. But yes Florida is on the list of next address/job for improvement in local/state level issues.

              • How is it so much video of Rittenhouse was taken and used in that prosecution that barely shows up in the few antifia rioters that ever saw arrest let alone a courtroom. Selective prosecutions are a thing as is targeted enforcement and we may see much more of it in the coming months.

  3. Not to worry the caring mamala cackles will be there with $750 to help that is if you can locate a source of communication to jump through all the fema hoops, and good luck with that when you and yours are already sht out of luck.

    TRUMP/VANCE 2024.

  4. I had to take down my 2A “dog whistle” today because of the inclement weather.

    So yeah, without any houses flying the American Flag during the hurricane, there’s no way at all to know who’s locked and loaded…and who’s just loaded.

  5. If it was not for Elon Musk. Thousands would still be without cell service. He has his Starlink network up over appalachia like an umbrella. My understanding it’s at no charge for the areas flooded.

    And the use of drones to deliver supplies instead of grenades like in Russia and Ukraine, is a welcome change.

    And any FEMA workers from San Francisco or New York need to go the hell back home. If they’re afraid of people open carrying guns. They’re in Real America now. carrying guns is especially normal after a storm.

    • Most FEMA workers are like that regardless of home state. NH and ME had some interesting run ins when they told people they couldn’t leave the aid station or have guns there from what I heard on a less than recent blizzard.

    • I’m going to ask my Governor for open carry during and after hurricanes. He’ll probably make it happen. And then I’ll ask him if we can just have it all the time. He’ll probably make THAT happen too.

  6. It’s sad and very telling. That it takes all these years to pass until now. You do the math. For people to understand that open carry is a civil right. And very important to your safety and the protection of your private property.

    As well as the protection of your neighborhood.

    In 1966 the black panther party for self-defense, conducted an open carry protest at the California state capital Sacramento. And let’s be honest. Yes, it did scare everyone. And they had the civil right to do it.

    For context, this was just a couple of years after the Watts riots. So many people were worried seeing folks open carrying long guns.

    And for added content the Deacons for Self-defense and Justice. Had been open carrying long guns since at least 1962. Because their neighborhoods were being invaded by criminals wearing bed sheets.

    So I guess it takes, american cities to be burned to the ground. Every 30 years or so. By out of control organized mobs.

    In order to remind people why they need the Second Amendment. And why it’s important to open carry guns.

    And it real helps when the police are ordered to stand down, and do nothing. People open their eyes real wide then.

    btw

    Where I grew up we didn’t need riots. It was a serial rapist and murderer. That caused many people in Sacramento to begin the open carry of guns.

    There were open carry protests by Jewish people carrying loaded Thompson submachine guns. In the early 1980s. In southern California.

    So, to me, it’s very normal to see the law abiding open carrying guns.

    But you need to be smart about it. And walking onto the legislative floor with their guns was a mistake. Up to then the panther protest was very polite. They never pointed guns at anyone.

    And stop blaming governor Reagan for the Mulford Act.

    And instead blame yourselves for voting for the white ho.mo-se.xual and ath.eists lawmakers in california. Who openly support the Mulford Act and refused to repeal it.

  7. 40 years is probably about right as the bulk of the people who go through anything after the passage of time are either too young to remember it well at the time, aged out of relevance/dead, or a minority that actually remembers but better have a lot of education and memorials in place to teach everyone else. As with anything important it’s not about you (the individual)

  8. I’ve seen several signs reading “You Loot, We Shoot” displayed in several hurricanes in the last couple decades. Even read a couple local news stories where the looters f’ed around and found out.
    Might be time to have the same thing happen in the blue bubble cities. With dwindling police resources and lax enforcement just have the body wagon drive through the neighborhoods as was done back during the Black Death era. “Bring Out Your Dead”. Still has a certain ring to it.
    On a more serious note. I see no problem with people defending what they worked for and have tried to build over their lives from those who would steal it. And that does include defending themselves from government confiscations.

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