DeSantis Finally Addresses Neo Nazis Outside Disney World, Calling it a Media ‘Farce’

Weeks after the incident and nearly every elected official condemned the activity, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finally addressed the Neo-Nazis waving swastikas and “DeSantis 2024” flags outside the Walt Disney World Resort. His response wasn’t necessarily the condemnation that people were looking for.

Governor DeSantis spoke with the Jewish News Syndicate on various topics, including Israel’s security, the United State’s nuclear deal with Iran, and America’s relationship with China. Eventually, the subject of antisemitic activity in Florida came up, and the Governor’s answer was less-than-convincing.

DeSantis called the demonstrations a “farce” and wondered why the Neo-Nazis wore masks. He called on the media to investigate who those people were and said that the media was “manufacturing an association” with Gov DeSantis.

He told the Jewish News Syndicate:

But be very careful about what some of these political people are doing. They’re trying to create a narrative as if somehow these people have a foothold in Florida. That is not true.  As a journalist, go ask those people. Ask them, “Who are you? Why do you have your face covered? Why are you doing this?” And the flags will oftentimes be creased, clearly they’ve never been used before. So they’re just being put out, so I’d be very careful and suspicious of that stuff.

As it turns out, the media did investigate who the people were demonstrating outside of Disney World. According to the Orlando Sentinel, the group behind the protest at Disney World is relatively new. The group calls themselves the Order of the Black Sun. It formed earlier this year from members of other white supremacists in Florida.

Ben Popp, an investigative researcher at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center of Extremism who specializes in far-right extremism and white supremacy, said that from 2020 to 2021, there was a 72 percent increase in extremist-related incidents in the state. From 2021 to 2022, that number rose by an additional nine percent.

Following the nazi demonstration outside Disney World, another group held a rally outside a children’s museum in South Florida, chanting antisemitic slurs and waving swastikas.

The rise in antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ+, and racist incidents is not new in Florida, but Florida Gov Ron DeSantis’ denial of them is. The Governor is currently running for the Republican nomination for President and trailing former President Donald Trump in the polls by more than 30 percent.

We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.