Cape and Islands District Attorney Urges U.S. Department of Justice To Investigate DeSantis Migrant Flights To Martha’s Vineyard
By Tom Joyce | August 4, 2023, 12:07 EDT
Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois is not happy with Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis.
Galibois wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice earlier this week asking it to investigate DeSantis’s migrant flights to Martha’s Vineyard last September.
At the direction of DeSantis, the state of Florida flew 49 South American migrants, mostly Venezuelans, from Texas to the Vineyard on September 14, 2022
“My office posits that, due to the interstate transportation of these migrants, this alleged scheme remains available for federal prosecution,” Galibois wrote in the letter, dated Monday, July 31, 2023, 320 days after the arrival of the migrants.
“Subsequent reporting and public statements also indicate that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his administration planned, initiated, funded with taxpayer monies, and executed this enterprise,” Galibois’s letter added. “I am conscious of my obligation as District Attorney to investigate any potential criminal activity that occurs within my jurisdiction, regardless of whether it took place before I assumed office.”
Galibois announced Friday, July 28 that his office will investigate the flights to Martha’s Vineyard. Galibois was elected Cape and Islands district attorney in November 2022. He took office on January 4, 2023 — 205 days before the announcement.
DeSantis had widely been considered a candidate for president since the last presidential election before he formally announced his candidacy on May 24.
In his letter, Galibois noted that California Governor Gavin Newsom and other elected officials from that state had already sent a letter to the Justice Department about Florida flying migrants to jurisdictions throughout the country.
“I stand behind and support a request made to you on July 6, 2023, from the Governor of California, the Attorney General of California, and the Sheriff from Bexar County Texas (where this and a subsequent comparable journey to California originated), to open federal criminal and civil investigations into these incidents,” Galibois wrote in his letter.
Many of the migrants DeSantis flew to Massachusetts now live on the South Shore, Cape Cod, and Martha’s Vineyard, according to Boston.com.
As a district attorney, Galibois could theoretically press charges against DeSantis for the migrant stunt. However, it is unclear if he would do it.
Spokesmen for Galibois, DeSantis, and the U.S. Justice Department could not be reached for comment on earlier this week.
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