Antisemites rally with swastikas in Florida; DeSantis spokesperson doubts they’re real Nazis

Central Florida officials are condemning a neo-Nazi rally that took place near Orlando Saturday, in which some two dozen people in neo-Nazi gear waved swastikas and yelled antisemitic epithets at passersby, though Florida governor’s spokesperson has expressed doubt over whether the demonstrators were actually antisemitic.

In videos and pictures shared on social media, the demonstrators can be seen waving National Socialist flags and banner, calling someone filming them a “fucking kike,” and making Nazi salutes.

https://twitter.com/Ekulnotned/status/1487918705401122823

https://twitter.com/StopAntisemites/status/1487508476297416710?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1487508476297416710%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stopantisemitism.org%2Fantisemitic-incidents-103%2Fneo-nazi-rally-in-orlando-causes-outrage

However,  a spokesperson for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declines to speak out against the rallies, casting doubt that they may be liberal plants, in a since-deleted tweet.

“Do we even know they are Nazis,” Christina Pushaw wrote, according to Floridapolitics.com.

Despite deleting the tweet, she has continued to retweet those who agree with her position.

There is no immediate statement from DeSantis’s office on the neo-Nazi rallies.

Other politicians don’t hesitate to condemn the demonstrations, which took place Saturday and Sunday near the campus of Central Florida University, which has a large Jewish student body, and near Disney World.

“Anti-semitism and hatred are not welcome in this community,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer says in a tweeted statement.

Anti-semitism and hatred are not welcome in this community. Despite displays of hate in Central Florida this weekend, our collective commitment to building an inclusive, compassionate community for all is stronger than ever.https://t.co/9v3fmv2n0k

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— Mayor Buddy Dyer (@orlandomayor) January 31, 2022

Orange County Sheriff John Mina also tweets out that hate has no place, though his office tells Newsweek that the demonstrators were within their First Amendment rights.

I am aware of the anti-Semitic demonstration in Orange County. I along with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office deplore any type of hate speech. This hatred has no place in our society. Any reports of criminal activity will be thoroughly investigated.

— Sheriff John Mina (@SheriffMina) January 31, 2022

Yesterday neo-nazis rallied in Orlando. But America beat their disturbing ideology before and we'll do it again. As a police commander I saw similar rallies, and I also saw that for every nazi there were a hundred Floridians there to stand up for what's right.

— Former Congresswoman Val Demings (@RepValDemings) January 30, 2022