Republican gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam is accusing his opponent, Ron DeSantis, of betraying President Donald Trump by siding with “liberal Democrats” in last month’s Stand Your Ground case that occurred in Pinellas County.
Markeis McGlockton was shot and killed on July 19 by Michael Drejka in a dispute over a handicapped parking space outside a convenience store.
DeSantis has take a position that the shooting was not a Stand Your Ground case, which drew criticism from Putnam.
“The state attorney and Pinellas Sheriff (Bob) Gualtieri have far more information on what took place in Clearwater. I trust our law enforcement will make the right decision and uphold the law,” Putnam said. “Congressman DeSantis, on the other hand, ought to be ashamed of siding with Al Sharpton and liberal Democrats instead of standing for Floridians’ constitutional rights.”
DeSantis issued a statement to Politico on Monday expressing his views concerning last month’s case.
“I support the right of Floridians to defend themselves by standing their ground against aggressors,” DeSantis said. “That said, it doesn’t seem to me that the law is even applicable in the case of Markeis McGlockton and I don’t think the Pinellas County Sheriff analyzed the law properly.”
The Putnam campaign accused DeSantis and Democrats of “throwing Florida law enforcement under the bus, instead of allowing the state attorney assigned to the recent shooting in Pinellas County to review all the facts and footage.” The campaign says DeSantis took a cheap jab in order to score political points.
Putnam says he supports Stand Your Ground and believes Floridians have the right to defend themselves, their families and their properties when they are threatened.
Putnam says it’s just another example that DeSantis “doesn’t understand Florida, or the rights of Floridians.”
The issue will likely surface when Putnam and DeSantis meet in Jacksonville Wednesday evening in the next Republican gubernatorial debate.