Discrimination Nation: FEMA’s Culture Of ‘Equity’

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Recent bombshell reporting exposed a directive from a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official instructing her subordinates to “avoid” assisting supporters of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.

This revelation – coupled by admissions that the directive may have been an agency-wide policy – has served to reinforce first-hand reports received by FITSNews from numerous individuals impacted by Hurricane Helene.

Earlier this month, The Daily Wire exclusively obtained and published directives from FEMA supervisor Marn’i Washington urging responders to “avoid homes advertising Trump” as they canvassed Lake Placid, Florida in search of residents eligible for aid following Milton’s landfall.

***

***

The report indicated the directive was circulated amongst Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees who volunteered to reinforce FEMA capabilities. One DHS employee expressed their shock at the directive in an interview with The Daily Wire.

“I know they’re short-staffed,” the anonymous employee said. “I thought we could go and make a difference.”

But when the DHS volunteers arrived, they “were told to discriminate against people,” the employee said.

“I volunteered to help disaster victims, not discriminate against them,” the employee added.

The article included images of a federal database which indicated government employees followed Washington’s directives to avoid delivering assistance to the homes of Trump supporters.

According to the report, several addresses were marked “not able to access property” with listed explanations for this supposed inaccessibility including: “Trump sign no entry per leadership,” “Per leadership no stop Trump flag,” “Trump sign,” and “Trump sign, no contact per leadership.”

***

Heart of Darkness: An Appalachian Tragedy#AppalachianStrong #HeleneRecovery pic.twitter.com/LnYLYeJLS5

— Andrew Fancher (@RealAndyFancher) November 18, 2024

***

The Daily Wire, like this news outlet, has repeatedly been branded a purveyor of “misinformation” by the self-appointed gatekeepers of the truth in the legacy media. However, the truthfulness of its reporting was quickly confirmed by FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell on X, who called the incident “reprehensible.”

“I want to be clear to all of my employees and the American people, this type of behavior and action will not be tolerated at FEMA,” Criswell wrote.

Just weeks before news broke of this blatant political discrimination, Criswell appeared on ABC News with George Stephanopoulos to assail the “truly dangerous narrative” that billions of dollars of FEMA funds spent caring for illegal aliens could have been spent instead on disaster assistance.

“It’s really a shame that we’re putting politics ahead of helping people” she said at the time.

***

RELATED | VOTING AFTER HELENE

***

While Criswell postured as an apolitical actor – claiming Washington’s discriminatory behavior against Trump supporters was anomalous – Washington took to the press to give her side of the story.

Washington appeared on Roland Martin Unfiltered, where she characterized the discrimination as a technique to avoid confrontation with Trump supporters.

“This is not isolated” she said, saying the practice was common “not just in the state of Florida” but also “in the Carolinas.”

“Senior leadership will lie to you and tell you that they do not know,” she said.

While only time (and subpoenas) will reveal what FEMA senior leadership knew (and when they knew it), Criswell’s implementation of far-left policies throughout her tenure as administrator are a matter of public record.

***

***

The Washington Free Beacon released a report in 2023 detailing FEMA’s diversity, equity and inclusion training. The training asserted that the United States is “rooted in extreme, extraordinary violence” and demanded participants acknowledge that “systemic racism and oppression exist” as a part of the agency’s “ongoing commitment to instill Equity as a Foundation of Emergency Management.”

The training claimed “white supremacy” is “ingrained in nearly every system and institution in the U.S.,” with the course’s instructor telling participants not to “overlook the white supremacists lurking in the workplace, lurking in the schools, (and) within the community.”

“Remember, nice people can be white supremacists,” it warned.

What does all of this “equity” look like on the ground in a rural, predominately white community? According to individuals who spoke with FITSNews, it looks like the government not taking an active role in disaster recovery efforts.

***

***

In describing relief efforts in his community following the impact of Hurricane Helene, Ralph Holly of Swannanoa, North Carolina told FITSNews “all them generators and all that food, that was all done by private organization.”

Holly lost his home as the Swannanoa river rose following Helene’s deluge. According to him, government provided his community no help in the immediate aftermath of the storm. Instead, private citizens stepped up to provide aid at their own expense.

“If it hadn’t have been for them, a lot of people would have just starved,” Holly said. “I mean, they wouldn’t have been able to make it.”

The proliferation of the (truly) free online press has allowed Holly’s story – and countless others like it – to spread in a way that they never would have been able to do in the “consensus media” era. This newfound transparency poses dangers to disturbingly politicized and ineffective institutions like FEMA – and to the congressional yes-men who’ll inevitably increase their budget without demanding proof of serious efforts to de-politicize the agency.

Count on this news outlet to proudly continue our dogged and independent pursuit of the truth and accountability as it covers these agencies.

***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Dylan Nolan is the director of special projects at FITSNews. He graduated from the Darla Moore school of business in 2021 with an accounting degree. Got a tip or story idea for Dylan? Email him here. You can also engage him socially @DNolan2000.

***

WANNA SOUND OFF?

Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.