by Laura Loomer
During a CNN Town Hall on Wednesday night, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was asked by Jake Tapper who his favorite Florida Democrat official is, and if he had a top ten list of Democrats he likes in Florida. DeSantis didn’t skip a beat in telling Tapper that his favorite Democrat is Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony, who was appointed as Sheriff of Broward County by Ron DeSantis in January 2019 following the removal of Sheriff Scott Israel in the aftermath of the Parkland school school shooting. When Tony was appointed, he was lauded as being the first black man to become sheriff in Broward County, Florida. Essentially, Tony was a DEI hire, and his record alone should have disqualified him from ever being Sheriff.
Why is it so problematic that Ron DeSantis, who is still under the delusion that he is going to be President, named Gregory Tony as his favorite Democrat?
Tony, who is a Democrat, is facing criticism for lying on multiple law enforcement job applications in the state of Florida, and failing to disclose that he was charged with murder in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tony also lied on the same job applications about his drug use. In 2020, Tony embraced the BLM-Antifa riots, the Jane’s Revenge-Antifa vandalism of 2022, and the mostly peaceful Hamas protests of 2023. Due to this, Broward County, Florida, has become a crime-ridden criminal hotbed, and despite widespread calls over the last four years by other members of law enforcement who have called on DeSantis to remove Tony, DeSantis has refused. Ron DeSantis has the power to fire Tony, but instead, he has continued to praise or defend Tony every step of the way.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN: “Who is your favorite Democrat official in Florida?”
RON DESANTIS: “So I appointed a fellow down in Broward County to replace Scott Israel, who had a great life story, we put him there, Greg Tony.”
An investigation into Tony by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Office of Executive Investigations Public Corruption Unit reveals that Tony’s life story is not the picture-perfect story that Ron DeSantis attempted to portray during his CNN Town Hall.
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Office of Executive Investigations Public Corruption Unit’s report, Tony was charged with murder in Philadelphia. The key findings read, “OEI Inspectors obtained and reviewed records pertaining to PPD case number H93-144. Per the records, Gregory Toney-Scott (Tony), was arrested for the May 3, 1993 murder of eighteen-year-old Hector Rodriguez. A review of the homicide file revealed that on May 4, 1993, pursuant to the investigation conducted in case number H93-144, Tony was arrested and charged with murder, possessing instruments of crime, possession of an unlicensed firearm, and carrying firearms on public streets or public property in Philadelphia.”
Homicide records from the Philadelphia Police Department show that Detective Michael Gross arrested Greg Tony for the murder of Hector Rodriguez at 10:40 am on May 4th, 1993.
The Philadelphia Police Department homicide report also contains an eyewitness report from a man named David Serrano, who was visiting his father’s store down the street from where the murder happened. Serrano told police that he believed there was no reason for Tony to shoot Rodriguez, and Serrano thought Tony was in no danger at the time of the shooting. These details are key, as Tony claimed that his shooting was in self-defense.
Serrano’s account of the shooting is horrific, essentially describing a murder in cold blood. Serrano told Philadelphia Police officers, “Hector put his hands up like this. [Indicating his arms above his head with the palms facing forward, like a surrendering position] ‘Hector said if you’re going to shoot me, shoot me.’ Then Greg just shot him.”
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement Office of Executive Investigations obtained Greg Tony’s 2005 application to the Coral Springs Police Department. In his application, Tony lied about being in a fight where a weapon was used, being accused of misconduct, causing the injury or death of another person, being questioned by a law enforcement agency or being the suspect of an investigation, and being involved in something you could be arrested for. One of the creepiest answers Tony gave on his 2005 application was writing fighting in response to the question that asked what was the most serious thing he had ever done, which vaguely refers to his Philadelphia arrest.
In comparison to being arrested and standing trial for murder, The Florida Department of Law Enforcement Office of Executive Investigations also found less serious but still disqualifying factors in Tony’s law enforcement history. Investigators discovered that in 2005, the Tallahassee Police Department refused to hire Tony due to his LSD use. Investigators also discovered that Tony has a lengthy history of unpaid traffic tickets.
