NBC’s Frank Figliuzzi Says DeSantis Martha’s Vineyard Stunt is to Show ‘I Hate Brown People As Much As Everybody Else Does!’
NBC News National Security Contributor Frank Figliuzzi told SiriusXM host Dean Obeidallah that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. flew migrants to Martha’s Vineyard in order to demonstrate his hatred for “brown people.”
Planeloads of migrants were shown arriving in Massachusetts Wednesday in a video provided to Fox News, and the Abbott buses were captured Thursday morning by Fox News cameras outside the official VP’s residence at the Naval Observatory — just the latest in a series of stunts in which Republican governors relocate asylum-seekers to make a political point.
On Friday’s edition of The Dean Obeidallah Show, the host talked with Figliuzzi about the DeSantis stunt, and Figliuzzi suggested it was motivated by a kind of racist FOMO-type deal:
DEAN OBEIDALLAH: Ron DeSantis Flying Human Beings from Texas. A flight started in Texas and then somehow stopped for a minute Florida, and went on the way to Martha’s Vineyard. NPR’s reported that they spoke to people directly who were on that plane and told they were told they were going to Boston and they were to get expedited work permits. At what point does it become a crime, like human trafficking, or is there some other crime that could be implicated here?
FRANK FIGLIUZZI: Yeah, great question. Again, we have a couple of governors who seem to be thumbing their nose and subverting federal law and, and just inviting some kind of prosecution. We learned late last night as I was up, you know, my head exploding, reading Judge Cannon’s opinion. I saw a late night report that said the White House will be today considering litigation options against those two governors. I don’t know what that means, but I can tell you from my criminal perspective that this is a violation of federal law. Now, people keep throwing around the term “human trafficking.” Be careful with that. I don’t think it violates the human trafficking statute, but I absolutely think that it violates a law that says you can’t transport across state lines, undocumented migrants, period. End of discussion. So whatever the hell was done with DeSantis, and by the way, just so people understand this, these Venezuelans, they weren’t in Florida.
DEAN OBEIDALLAH: Right.
FRANK FIGLIUZZI: Oh, yeah. Florida’s got an immigration problem. Not no, they didn’t swim over. They were in Texas. And they said this said the Florida plane, just because he wants it on the stunt. Right. He wants to say, yeah, I don’t, I hate brown people as much as everybody else does. Right. I’m in on this. So, yeah, I do think there’s a there’s a violation of law. It’s not the trafficking law, but it’s the law that says you can’t transport undocumented migrants across state lines.
DEAN OBEIDALLAH: Is there a criminal penalty with that law? Do you know offhand?
FRANK FIGLIUZZI: Oh, absolutely! Yeah. But, and I think DOJ is going to have to going to have to look at it. But I also predict this. I think those two governors are just going to thumb their nose and go, yeah, fine, charge me, bring, bring it on, charge me because it empowers them as they’re entering an election.
Watch the clip above, via SiriusXM.
