Marn’i Washington, a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supervisor who was fired for directing Hurricane Milton relief effort workers in Florida to skip homes with signs expressing support for President-elect Donald Trump, has pushed back against the agency’s claims that her case was an “isolated” incident.
During an interview with Roland Martin on his show “Roland Martin Unfiltered,” Washington claimed that her instructions for hurricane relief effort workers to “avoid homes advertising Trump” stemmed from a widespread FEMA policy of avoiding “politically hostile” homes. Washington said that while FEMA claimed she acted independently, she actually followed the organization’s standard policy.
“FEMA always preaches avoidance first and then de-escalation, so this is not isolated,” Washington told Martin. “This is a colossal event of avoidance not just in the state of Florida, but you will find avoidance in the Carolinas.”
Washington added, “Senior leadership will lie to you and tell you that they do not know.”
Following The Daily Wire’s report that Washington had directed employees both verbally and in a group chat to avoid the homes of Trump supporters, a FEMA spokesperson told The Daily Wire that Washington had been fired for her actions. The spokesperson described it as an “isolated incident” that was not approved by the agency.
The FEMA spokesperson added, “The employee who issued this guidance had no authority and was given no direction to tell teams to avoid these homes and we are reaching out to the people who may have not been reached as a result of this incident.”
READ MORE: FEMA skipped helping homes with Trump signs after major hurricanes
While FEMA has described Washington’s actions as an “isolated incident,” the former FEMA supervisor told Martin that a review of the agency’s incident reports would show how employees avoid certain houses due to “political hostility.” Washington claimed that there was a “community trend” of “hostility” observed from Trump supporters in Lake Placid, Florida.
According to Washington, some people with Trump signs or flags at their residences showed “hostility” by saying, “I don’t like FEMA,” “You guys are lying to people,” “You’re not helping people,” and “You’re part of the Biden-Harris campaign.”
Pushing back against the agency’s claims, Washington said, “FEMA’s very well aware of the incidents that take place, not just with my crew, but with all the crews in the states.”
During her interview with Martin, Washington claimed that her FEMA supervisors were supportive of her decision to avoid surveying homes on certain streets in Florida. In response to a message that explained a street was “politically hostile” and that the FEMA team was “not canvassing this street further,” Washington’s supervisor reportedly said, “Great decision. Thanks for the update.”
Washington’s interview with Martin was shared Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter.
