Ex-FEMA worker violated Hatch Act with Trump yard signs order: OSC
The Office of the Special Counsel (OSC) has found that Marn’i Washington, a former FEMA supervisor, violated the Hatch Act by instructing her team to avoid assisting homes displaying pro-Trump signs during the response to Hurricane Milton. The OSC’s complaint details two counts against Washington: engaging in political activity while on duty and using her official position to influence the outcome of an election. The directive to disregard homes with Trump signage, issued from October 22 to at least October 26, contradicted her claims of safety concerns, as there were no reported incidents or safety issues associated with thes properties. Following the OSC’s findings, FEMA terminated Washington’s employment.She has since claimed she was a scapegoat for broader issues within the association, but these allegations have not been substantiated by the OSC’s investigation.
Ex-FEMA employee who discouraged helping pro-Trump homes violated Hatch Act: OSC
The Office of the Special Counsel found Marn’i Washington, the former FEMA supervisor who told her team to “avoid” homes “advertising Trump” during Hurricane Milton response, violated the Hatch Act through her “bias[ed]” conduct.
Washington is charged with two counts of violating the Hatch Act, one for engaging in political activity while on duty and another for using her official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the result of an election. The complaint filed on Tuesday recommends disciplinary action against Washington.
“OSC brings this Complaint because Washington showed bias against supporters of a candidate for partisan political office while Washington was overseeing federal government personnel performing disaster relief work,” the complaint states. “Specifically, Washington instructed subordinate government employees to “avoid homes advertising Trump” when canvassing neighborhoods to assist survivors of Hurricane Milton.”
Several of OSC’s findings in the complaint contradict the statements Washington made to the Washington Examiner in her first interview after her anti-Trump directive was exposed to the public. Her testimony in that interview was cited in former Florida Attorney General Sen. Ashley Moody’s (R-FL) lawsuit against Washington and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.
Washington claimed in interviews with news outlets, including the Washington Examiner, that her directive was in response to safety concerns due to death threats at houses with Trump campaign signage. However, the complaint states that this is impossible because her crew hadn’t even begun canvassing at the time.
She demanded that FEMA “turn over incident reports” showing hostile encounters took place on the streets she directed her team to avoid. However, the complaint states that there were “no reports in Highlands County of safety concerns at properties with Trump 2024 campaign signs.”
The complaint states that not only did no member of her crew make any report of safety concerns at a property with Trump campaign signage, but not even Washington’s own daily summary reports noted a single incident.
According to the complaint, Washington first directed her crew to avoid houses with Trump campaign signage on Oct. 22, 2024, and continued to do so until at least Oct. 26. Numerous crew members reported skipping over Trump-supporting houses over the next week. On Oct. 29, Washington told a FEMA manager that her team has registered Trump supporters but avoided “the Trump supporters that have signage stating they’ll shoot us onsite.”
After FEMA received conclusive evidence that Washington directed her team to avoid houses with Trump campaign signage, the complaint states that FEMA demobilized her on or about Nov. 7, and fired her on or about Nov. 9.
Washington has claimed that she was a “patsy” and a “scapegoat,” that the decision to avoid Trump-supporting homes came from above, and that such conduct was more widespread than just her team. These claims were not substantiated in OSA’s findings.
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