Newly published videos of the arrests from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) theatrical crackdown on voter fraud paint a picture of chaos and fear among Floridians who’ve found themselves in the crosshairs of DeSantis’ war on voting.
The Tampa Bay Times published on Tuesday police bodycam footage of some of the 20 arrests in August that came from investigations by the Office of Election Crimes and Security, the new special police force DeSantis has established to combat non-existent voter fraud.
Those who were arrested last month were former felons who had been convicted of murder or sex crimes and were therefore still ineligible to vote even after a Florida ballot initiative in 2018 lifted the state’s ban on allowing ex-felons to vote.
However, the arrestees reportedly hadn’t been told that voting was still illegal for them when they cast their ballots, and the bodycam videos show them reacting with distress and confusion as the police took them into custody.
“I thought felons were able to vote,” one of the residents identified by the Tampa Bay Times as Tony Patterson said while sitting the back of a police car. “That’s why I signed a petition form, that’s what I remember.”
“Why would you let me vote if I wasn’t able to vote?” he asked, to which the cop replied, “I’m not sure, buddy. I don’t know.”
That officer’s response reflected multiple moments in the footage in which even the police were almost as confused as the people they were arresting.
“I don’t know, ma’am. I honestly couldn’t tell you,” a cop responded when a woman who had been arrested said that she’d been told she was free to vote after carrying out her sentence.
12 of the arrested ex-felons were registered Democrats and at least 13 were Black, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Watch the videos below:
