FEMA whistleblower says Trump supporters viewed as ‘domestic terrorists’ by agency

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) said the whistleblower recounted how a FEMA worker knocked on the door of a disabled veteran’s family Georgia home in October and suggested they ditch any signs on their front lawn or windows supporting Trump.

“He recommended that the family remove Trump campaign materials and signs from their house and yard, stating that his FEMA supervisors view Trump supporters as domestic terrorists,” Comer wrote on X.

Apparently, the warning did not go unheeded and the family hurried to remove the material even though they had just gone through the destruction of Hurricane Helene. “The elderly homeowners were so frightened by this and afraid that they would not recover their loss that they removed the signs,” Comer said. “Nevertheless, FEMA has not returned to their residence.”

The whistleblower approached Comer just as FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell faced questions from the oversight committee about accusations that the agency willfully ignores Trump supporters when it is sometime to be administering its emergency response to everyone. Criswell didn’t deny this behavior has occurred but said it wasn’t mandated or common, even when she was confronted with testimony from FEMA employees who say it is a widespread practice.

The hearing was prompted after fired FEMA supervisor Marn’i Washington admitted that Trump-supporting residences would not get the same treatment as other Americans. Washington then said this practice was a standard operating procedure for FEMA which advised staff to “avoid homes advertising Trump.”

According to The New York Post, a FEMA official backed Washington’s story and informed the media outlet that emergency workers do avoid houses with Trump signs and even entire sections of towns that are “white or conservative-dominated” When asked about this assertion, Criswell would only tell the committee that the allegations are “still under investigation”

“We are working with the inspector general to determine whether or not this is broader than this, but the evidence that I have seen so far shows that this was an isolated incident, and it has not gone beyond what this one employee did,” Criswell told the committee.