‘Don’t ... blame me for some madman:’ DeSantis, man clash over Jacksonville Dollar General shooting

JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Governor Ron DeSantis was confronted by a local resident, who pushed the Governor on the way he’s handled guns and racial issues at a press conference held in Jacksonville Thursday morning.

Timothy Robinson traveled from Orange Park after hearing the Governor would be speaking at a Culhane’s Irish Pub on the Southside.

Robinson blamed the Governor’s policies on race and guns for the racist mass shooting in New Town, which claimed the lives of three Black Duval residents late last month.

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“No, no. There is the truth. There is something about the truth. It’s not - everyone doesn’t have their own truth. No. You don’t get to come here and blame me for some madman,” replied DeSantis.

“You have allowed people to hunt people like me,” Robison responded.

“Oh, that is nonsense. That is such nonsense,” said DeSantis.

At the conclusion of the press conference, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo came to the Governor’s defense.

He called Robinson ‘crazy’ and ‘insane’.

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“And it’s terrible that people take advantage of the fact that he’s [DeSanits] a different color from the poor victims of that tragedy to try and tie him into something,” said Ladapo.

Action News Jax caught up with Robison after he was escorted out of the venue by security.

Robinson said it’s the Governor’s policies, not his skin color, that drove him to speak out.

“I wanted to share my story of how the guns on the street in the hands of young people, people with hatred in their heart, hunting down, planning murders against people that look like me,” said Robinson.

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Robinson, a former service member in the Army and Air Force, told Action News Jax he was disappointed by the Governor’s response.

“The Governor seems to not want to hear anything opposite of what he believes is right. That’s not fair. We were both service members. We were trained, required to follow procedures that call for us to treat everybody equally,” said Robinson.

Reaction among local lawmakers has been split down party lines.

State Representative Dean Black (R-Yulee), who attended the press conference, said he believed the Governor responded appropriately.

“The only person that was responsible for the shooting tragedy in Jacksonville was the shooter himself. Period. End of story,” said Black.

State Representative Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville), who represents the New Town neighborhood, decried the Governor’s response on social media.

“Governor Ron DeSantis won’t even acknowledge the hateful rhetoric and policies he pushes are causing harm in our communities,” Nixon wrote in a post following the press conference.

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