Ex-FEMA Worker Claims Leadership Knew Workers Were Avoiding Homes with Trump Signs

The Federal Emergency Management Agency supervisor fired for telling workers to avoid homes with Trump signs or flags said in an interview Tuesday that “senior leadership” at FEMA was well-aware of this guidance and it was not an isolated incident.

The FEMA supervisor, Marn’i Washington, said in an interview with show host Roland Martin that she instructed her survivor assistance team in Lake Placid, Florida, to avoid homes with Trump signs or flags not on her own, but due to what FEMA refers to as a “community trend” where people who fell in that category were hostile to FEMA workers.

Washington said:

However, if you look at the record, there is what we call a community trend. And unfortunately, it just so happened that the political hostility that was encountered by my team and I was on two different teams during this deployment, they just so happened to have the Trump campaign signage. FEMA always preaches avoidance first and then de escalation. So this is not isolated. This is a colossal event of avoidance, not just in the state of Florida, but you will find avoidance in the Carolinas. Senior leadership will lie to you and tell you that they do not know. But if you ask the [disaster survivor assistance] crew leads and specialists what they are experiencing in the field, they will tell you. Demand for FEMA to give you those incident reports. They will substantiate what is happening to us in the field.

Washington claimed she was “non-partisan” and that FEMA leadership “know homes are being skipped due to political hostile encounters.” She added:

So my senior leadership was aware of the amount of encounters that was going on in the field. Again, this was my second time and second crew in Florida, and experiencing unwelcomed behavior from the residents. Now, not all Floridians have been unpleasant, but for the most part, the ones that are very passionate about their disdain for FEMA, they have no problem expressing it.

So FEMA is very well aware of the incidents that take place, not just with my crew, but with all of the crews in the state that’s declared. And instead of just saying, ‘Hey, this is how we’re going to mitigate it, to protect our people,’ they decided to fire me and make sure Donald Trump knows that they are loyal to him because they fear retribution.

She explained further regarding “community trends”:

…once we start seeing a trend, for example, if they just so happen to have these Trump campaign signs in front of their home, and that that’s the characteristic that’s coming along with that, we have to proceed with precaution, so avoidance first and then de escalation. And that’s the thing. Our superiors know that we have constant conversations about, keep your people safe. If your people are uncomfortable, then just don’t go.

She said her direct boss, a man named Chad Hershey, had told her multiple times that her job “is to keep the team safe.”

Therefore, she said due to the “community trend” of facing hostility from some with Trump signage, they only went to homes “that do not have the community trend with the Trump campaigns signage.”

“If any of those residents come outside, they have the Trump campaign signage and they say, ‘Hey, I want to register,’ we welcome them arms. We will let you register. Great, wonderful, but we were not to subject our people into continuous verbal abuse or hostile encounters,” she said.

Washington’s allegations track with what hurricane survivors have told Breitbart News and other outlets in North Carolina, where survivors said it took six days after Hurricane Helene for federal disaster assistance workers to arrive and that they were not proactive in seeing if survivors needed assistance.

Vice President Kamala Harris claimed that FEMA workers were going “door to door” to find survivors who needed assistance — which would have been difficult in North Carolina, since many homes were not accessible by foot or vehicle due to storm damage and since many lost their homes.

Members of Congress vowed to investigate FEMA after Washington’s interview.

“Denying FEMA benefits to President Trump’s supporters is weaponization of the worst kind. There needs to be full accountability,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) posted on X.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) posted:

It is unacceptable for FEMA to withhold life-saving assistance based solely on one’s political beliefs. Hurricanes severely impacted Pinellas County, and lives were tragically lost. This situation is far from over—we will get to the bottom of it and demand full accountability!

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) posted:

Under Harris-Biden, our institutions are weaponized & FEMA workers were told to avoid helping Trump supporters. Under Trump-Vance, we need FEMA to be a quick-response, action agency that serves ALL AMERICANS. Under Trump-Vance, it’s time for REFORM & it’s time to UNITE AMERICA.

Donald Trump Jr. posted:

When I went to Sarasota Township and Bat Cave, North Carolina some of the hardest hit areas and they had barely seen anyone from FEMA, I knew this was going to be the case. Thank God for the incredible network of volunteers and patriots and the great folks @SamaritansPurse.

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