Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said it’s “not rocket science” why so many Americans are moving to Florida, arguing that people look to the Sunshine State and understand that “leadership matters.”
“It’s not rocket science. I mean, people are watching and they understand that leadership matters. We don’t just watch as things break down or things aren’t going right. We do something about it,” Moody told Sean Duffy on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.“
“When we saw people not respecting cops and other folks defunding their police, we gave them raises. When we saw a rash of folks rushing into stores and committing mob thefts, we did something about it. We made it easier to prosecute those people,” she continued.
Moody was responding to questions on why so many Americans are fleeing Democratic-led states to places such as Florida in recent years.
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Florida AG Ashley Moody and Gov. Ron DeSantis at public event. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Census Bureau data from earlier this year found that New York lost 319,000 people between July of 2020 and the same month of 2021, while California lost 261,000 during the same time period. Florida, meanwhile, grew by 211,000 residents during that time period.
“We saw other states cramming down on their citizens and taking away their rights. We did something about it. You know, this is a government of the people. They want to make sure those that they elect to office have their backs. And in Florida, we’ve got their backs,” Moody continued.
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Travelers are greeted by a Florida Welcome Sign display at the I-75 Welcome Center complex in Jennings, Fla. (Charlie Creitz/Fox News)
The state attorney general added in her remarks on Sunday that Florida is a “law and order state” that supports its police forces and will carry out the rule of law.
“And we will say … be aware if you move here. Florida is a law and order state. So if you’re a criminal and you’re residing in Florida, you may want to get out,” she warned.
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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody speaks during a roundtable discussion at the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora in Miami's Coral Way neighborhood on Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. ((Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images))
“I’m not only the attorney general. I’m a former federal prosecutor, a judge for over a decade. I’m married to a cop. It is not hard to imagine that if you fail and refuse to enforce the laws on the books, and that includes both crimes and your bail statutes, that you will see an increase in crime.”
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Florida has fallen directly under the 2024 presidential spotlight in recent weeks as speculation grows that Gov. Ron DeSantis will announce a presidential run. Former President Donald Trump, a Florida resident, has also officially announced his run to retake the White House in the upcoming election.