Ron DeSantis Just Looking For A Few Good Fascists For His Imperial Army
He’s a straight-up sociopath.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, currently humiliating himself in the Republican primary for president, revived the State Guard in 2021 and pinky swore that it would only help out Floridians during emergencies or natural disasters, but it turns out he wanted to build his own secret police. Nothing surprises us about this guy — well, maybe, if he laughed normally one day.
The Tampa Bay Times/Herald reports that a number of recruits quit after the first few training classes last month, apparently because they found the whiff of jackboots overwhelming.
Both teenagers fresh from high school and retired military veterans reported to the National Guard base near Jacksonville, Camp Blanding, where the volunteers were trained for combat. It was like they were drafted into a remake of Full Metal Jacket.
Khakis and polos were replaced by camouflaged uniforms. Volunteers assured they could keep their facial hair were ordered to shave. And they were drilled on how to rappel with ropes, navigate through the woods and respond to incidents under military command.
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Boot camp instructors reportedly yell at recruits and wake them before dawn and impose lights-out by 10 p.m. A few weeks into training, a retired Marine Corps captain, who’s disabled, told the local sheriff’s office that instructors had roughed him up while shoving him into a van. His Code Red-worthy offense was questioning the program and its leadership.
Brian Newhouse, a retired 20-year Navy veteran who was chosen to lead one of the State Guard’s three divisions, told the Times/Herald, “The program got hijacked and turned into something that we were trying to stay away from: a militia.”
At least two other former military veterans quit over similar concerns. Newhouse reportedly lodged multiple complaints against the State Guard, including that training was required on Sundays and members weren’t able to use the day for religious services or personal time, as originally promised. Guess Ron DeSantis only thinks religious freedom matters if you’re denying healthcare to trans people.
Newhouse also claims that medics weren’t available during the rigorous training. Nonetheless, Newhouse maintains an unwarranted and naive faith in DeSantis, who he notes is a fellow veteran.
“I don’t even think the governor knows what’s going on. I don’t think this is a fly on his radar right now,” Newhouse said. “I think he would be appalled that a veteran — a disabled veteran — would be abused by other military members.”
DeSantis is a known sadist, who allegedly laughed while witnessing torture at Guantanamo Bay. Considering the sound of his laugh, that likely only compounded the torture. Newhouse is vastly overestimating the governor’s sense of decency.
Since reviving the State Guard, the Republican-controlled Legislature increased its budget from $10 million to $107.5 million. The Guard’s size more than tripled from 400 recruits to 1,500.
The Guardian reports that on “the governor’s shopping list were helicopters, boats, police powers and reportedly even cellphone-hacking technology for a force outside of federal jurisdiction, and accountable directly to him.”
The State Guard, unlike the National Guard, is answerable only to the governor. However, the Guard isn’t activated exclusively for emergencies within the state but can be sent to “protect and defend the people of Florida from threats to public safety.” Considering DeSantis openly considers “wokeness,” the LGBTQ community, and education in general existential threats, it seems as if he’s preparing to wage war on liberal democracy across the nation.
Maj. Gen. John D. Haas, Florida’s adjutant general who oversees the Florida National Guard, admitted that the Imperial State Guard is a full on “military organization” that won’t just pitch in during actual emergencies but will proactively assist “law enforcement with riots and illegal immigration.”
Florida Republicans passed a First Amendment-shredding “anti-riot” bill intended to stifle non-MAGA protest. A judge blocked the law, but DeSantis presumably thinks his droogs can serve as an effective head-busting workaround.
Hurricane season is coming after a summer of extreme weather, but DeSantis is focused instead on his personal fascist fantasies. He’s the state’s most dangerous natural disaster.
[Tampa Bay Times / The Guardian]
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I do miss being able to click an emoji that more accurately describes how I feel about a story(💩) , because some things just don't deserve a ❤
Retired DoD civilian here. My career was spent performing ammo/weapon failure analyses and testing new equipment to make sure that the contractors made it correctly and according to spec. I see all kinds of bad things happening wrt buying equipment and providing training. I think that this paramilitary group is going to be racking up a lot of legal expenses and many people will get hurt or be killed. Maybe we can work on removing qualified immunity from police first before we go around setting up this group of whatever the fuck they are.