Former FEMA director wants to be dropped from Florida civil rights lawsuit
TALLAHASSEE — The former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency will ask a U.S. district judge to clear her in a lawsuit alleging the agency violated civil rights of Florida supporters of President Donald Trump in the aftermath of hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Deanne Criswell, who led FEMA during the Biden administration, will argue that she is shielded from the lawsuit by what is known as "qualified immunity," according to a court document filed Friday. Quoting two U.S. Supreme Court precedents, the document said qualified immunity "protects government officials 'from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights.'"
Then-Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody filed the lawsuit in November after reports that a FEMA supervisor directed aid workers to avoid going to homes in Lake Placid that had yard signs supporting Trump.
The lawsuit named as defendants Criswell and former FEMA supervisor Marn'i Washington. Gov. Ron DeSantis last month appointed Moody to the U.S. Senate to succeed Marco Rubio, who became Trump's secretary of state.
FEMA accused of violating Trump supporters' rights
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Fort Pierce, alleged that a conspiracy existed that violated the rights of Trump supporters. It sought damages and a declaration that the defendants "conspired to interfere with the civil rights of Trump supporters in Florida" in violation of a federal law.
"While the facts will continue to come out over the weeks and months, it is already clear that defendant Washington conspired with senior FEMA officials, as well as those carrying out her orders, to violate the civil rights of Florida citizens," the lawsuit said.
The document filed Friday by attorneys for Criswell involved scheduling issues in the case. As part of that, it said Criswell will file a motion for dismissal of the case, "asserting the defense of qualified immunity, among other defenses."
The document only dealt with Criswell and not Washington, the other defendant.
While Criswell has not filed a response in court to the allegations, she issued a statement in November that said agency employees "adhere to FEMA's core values and are dedicated to helping people before, during and after disasters, often sacrificing time with their own families to help disaster survivors."
"Recently, one FEMA employee departed from these values to advise her survivor assistance team to not go to homes with yard signs supporting President-elect Trump," the statement said. "This is a clear violation of FEMA's core values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation. This was reprehensible. I want to be clear to all of my employees and the American people, this type of behavior and action will not be tolerated at FEMA and we will hold people accountable if they violate these standards of conduct."
The allegations drew attention from congressional Republicans and the national news media. Helene hit Florida in September before moving into other states, including Georgia and North Carolina. Milton made landfall in Sarasota County in October before crossing Florida.
