FL Gubernatorial Candidates Denounce Presence Of Neo-Nazis In Tampa

TAMPA, FL — Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is calling on Gov. Ron DeSantis to denounce neo-Nazis who showed up outside the Tampa Convention Center Saturday as liberal activists demonstrated against the conservative Turning Point USA Student Action Summit taking place in the center Saturday.

During a news conference Sunday in front of the convention center where the neo-Naza group congregated Saturday, Fried, a Democrat running to replace DeSantis as governor, called on all elected officials to condemn the white supremacist group that showed up carrying flags with swastikas and other Nazi symbols and displaying posters with antisemitic messages.

“I am asking you, Ron DeSantis, to denounce the Nazis that were here, here to celebrate your speech inside this convention center,” Fried said. “They were holding your pictures yesterday.”

In addition to the antisemitic posters, the neo-Nazis carried a flag with the words, "DeSantis Country" and a poster with DeSantis' image.

Tampa police said they kept a close eye on the neo-Nazis standing in an area alone outside the convention center. Both summit attendees and protesters gave them wide birth. Eventually, the neo-Nazis left peacefully.

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Demonstrators protesting the summit marched from Lykes Gaslight Park at 410 N Franklin St. to the convention center at 333 S Franklin St. in downtown Tampa. The demonstration was organized by liberal activist groups Florida For Change, Tampa Bay Community Action Committee and Women's Voices of SW Florida to protest the conservative agenda forwarded by the convention speakers, including what they call efforts to undermine the rights of Blacks, LGBTQ people and women.

Speakers at the convention included DeSantis, former President Donald Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, nationally known conservative television commentators and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson.

Fried, who is Jewish, said she was outraged at the presence of neo-Nazis in downtown Tampa.

On her way to Tampa from Orlando Sunday, Fried tweeted, "Headed to Tampa this afternoon to stand where they stood yesterday to tell them that antisemitism, hate speech, and delusions of white supremacy are not welcome in Florida. Because Ron DeSantis never forcefully condemns the neo-Nazis who show up outside of his speeches, I will."

At one point she addressed the neo-Nazis.

“Let me be clear. When I’m governor, you will not be welcome here. You will not terrorize us. And we will never back down from condemning hate and white supremacy," she said.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Florida, who is also running for Florida governor, also issued a statement on Twitter.

“The reprehensible antisemitic hate and neo-Nazi demonstrations from this weekend have no place anywhere in Florida,” Crist said. "We need a governor that'll forcefully condemn hate. DeSantis is coddling antisemitism because he views them as part of his base. It’s just another reason he must be replaced.

“Over the last year, Florida has seen a rise in antisemitic hate — antisemitic flyers left at hundreds of Florida homes, neo-Nazi demonstrations in Orlando, and now neo-Nazi flags waving outside a prominent Republican convention," the former Florida governor continued. "To date, there’s been little to no response or condemnation from Gov. Ron DeSantis.”

The Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg was quick to respond to the blatant display of Nazi flags and antisemitic posters in neighboring downtown Tampa Saturday.

"Openly and proudly displaying genocidal symbols is a direct threat to the Jewish community," Florida Holocaust Museum chairman Mike Igel said in a statement. "Carrying the Nazi flag, or that of the SS, the unit responsible for some of the worst atrocities of the Holocaust, is an indefensible act of pure hatred."

Igel said these "chilling" antisemitic symbols are a reminder that hatred and prejudice persist in Tampa Bay.

"Today's demonstration shows we have much work left to do," he said. "This isn't about politics or religion. It's about humanity. The Florida Holocaust Museum calls upon everyone, Jew and non-Jew, regardless of political affiliation, to condemn this blatant antisemitism in the strongest possible terms. This should matter to everyone."

Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet said on Sunday that they "100 percent condemn those ideologies in the strongest of terms."

“Since these individuals were located on public property, our security attempted to, but was not permitted to remove them," Kolvet said. "We have no idea who they are or why they were here."

“Our students, after initially confronting them, ultimately took the mature route and vacated the space. Once that happened, these individuals left," he said.