Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that he will pardon anyone charged for violations of pandemic restrictions.
“I’m also glad to be on to be able to say that effective tomorrow morning, I’m going to sign a reprieve under my constitutional authority,” DeSantis said Wednesday, breaking the news live on Fox News to a couple who was facing potential jail time for allowing patrons at their Broward County gym to exercise without a mask.
“So, that will delay the case for 60 days against both of them, and then when our clemency board meets in the coming weeks, we’ll issue pardons not only for Mike and Jillian but for any Floridian that may have outstanding infractions for things like masks and social distancing,” DeSantis continued.
DeSantis said he was making the move because local government health orders should have only been recommendations.
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“It’s a total overreach,” DeSantis said. “These things with health should be advisory, they should not be punitive.”
In the case of Mike and Jillian Carnevale, who were facing up to 120 days in jail for their violations, DeSantis also pointed out that masks are not recommended for use while exercising.
“The fact is, it’s not even right to be wearing masks when you’re exercising,” DeSantis said. “The World Health Organization advises against it! It’s not healthy to be doing that in the first place, so it was a bad restriction.”
The move comes a week after DeSantis signed a bill suspending all COVID restrictions in the state, handcuffing local governments that were hoping to keep restrictions in place longer.
“I think that’s the evidence-based thing to do,” DeSantis said. “I think folks that are saying they need to be policing people at this point, if you’re saying that, then you’re really saying you don’t believe in the vaccines.”
In the case of the pardons, DeSantis argued that local governments were treating Floridians unfairly.
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“I think they’ve been treated poorly, but fortunately, they’ve got a governor that cares,” DeSantis said.
