Yesterday's announcement that our Republican Governor is going to deploy the Florida National Guard to Washington DC is a political stunt with one purpose, to kowtow to Trump.

Governor DeSantis was elected to lead Florida. How does this move help Floridians?

• Washington DC does not need the Florida National Guard (the entirety of the US Military works for them).
   
• He is deploying the Florida National Guard AWAY from Florida during hurricane season and in the midst of a declared national disaster.
   
• These men and women in uniform have families who will struggle without them in a time of great strife and need just to satisfy the political agenda of powerful Republicans. This is no better than the gassing of peaceful crowds for Trump's photo-op.
   
• DeSantis is ordering Floridians into a COVID hotspot to mix with folks from around the country then return here to Florida.

The militarization & villification of the largely peaceful protests is Trump attempting to distract from the issue at hand: the repeated and systemic killing of black Americans at the hands of overzealous police. Desantis' partisan move to involve the Florida National guard will escalate the violence that has been started by militarized police in DC and detracts from point of all of this. 

I first ran for office after Trump ordered a raid that got one of our guys killed in Yemen. He did this recklessly and against advice while sitting in a Mar a Lago ballroom instead of a classified briefing room. He then enraged our allies hours before our team went into the field by tweeting the Muslim ban. The team was ambushed and SCPO Ryan Owens didn't come home.

This is the kind of irresponsible decision-making that has defined the last three years, and now Gov Desantis is joining in. He's risking Floridians' lives to placate political whims, and for no reason.

The murder of George Floyd was gut-wrenching, preventable, and altogether tragic. The lessons from 400 years of systemic racism in this country and the resent violence in Ferguson, Baltimore, and Charlottesville were not enough to stop the violence nor to save George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. 

#BlackLivesMatter and the totally justified peaceful protesters are not our enemy. On the contrary, their courage in the face of oppression, determination, and zeal embodies the spirit of America. We should not let a few bad actors tarnish the image of their movement.

Which leads me back to this: Desantis and Trump are doing this stunt simply to tarnish the image of peaceful protesters and try and paint them all with one brush. It's cowardly, political, and stupid. We should demand better from our elected leadership.

We must call them to account and  make them pay the price for their abandonment of our ideals. Will you stand with me to help?