The shitwhistle Florida Republican lawmaker who wrote and was the main sponsor of Ron DeSantis’s vicious “Don’t Say Gay” law, state Rep. Joseph Harding, has been indicted for six felonies, including money laundering and wire fraud. Surprise, it all has to do with COVID relief money. Wonkette has written in detail about how diligently Harding worked to make that law — “Don’t Say Gay,” not COVID relief — as cruel as possible to LGBTQ+ kids.
Maybe he will go to prison forever, and it will be a Christmas miracle.
Florida Legislators Find A Way To Make ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill Even Crueler
Now, to be clear, we are not saying there is a specific correlation between authoring abusive laws that target LGBTQ+ people and also being indicted for wire fraud and money laundering. We are just saying socially conservative white men are bad people.
Here is the kind of garbage Harding is accused of doing, as nicely summarized by Florida Politics:
The indictment alleges that between Dec. 1, 2020 and March 1, 2021, Harding committed two acts of wire fraud through a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration (SBA) and by obtaining COVID-19-related small business loans through false and fraudulent pretenses.
It alleges Harding made fraudulent applications for Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster Loans, including by utilizing the names of dormant businesses. It also alleges Harding obtained fraudulently created bank statements for one of the dormant businesses, used as supporting documentation for one of the loan applications.
“By this conduct, the indictment alleges that Harding fraudulently obtained and attempted to obtain more than $150,000 in funds from the SBA to which he was not entitled,” a U.S. Department of Justice wrote in a press release.
“Harding is also charged with two counts of engaging in monetary transactions with funds derived from unlawful activity related to his transfer of the fraudulently obtained (Economic Injury Disaster Loan) proceeds into two bank accounts, and two counts of making false statements to the SBA.”
But be sure not to tell any kids that LGBTQ+ people exist, that would be immoral.
The douchebag says he’s not guilty, blah blah blah, you know the drill. He is just beggin’ you to pray for him. He doesn’t say in his Facebook post on the matter exactly what he wants you to pray for, so let’s just stick with asking that God’s will be done. Let’s find out what God really thinks this guy deserves.
Joe Harding could go to prison for 20 years for wire fraud, 10 years for money laundering, and up to five for false statements, according to the Justice Department. That would be a lot of years to knock on the door of fellow inmates’ cells and say “Hey, buddy! Don’t say gay!”
If you’re into the details of the indictment, the Justice Department’s press release is here. We’re more interested in the hypocrisy. Here’s a statement from the head of Equality Florida:
“Those are serious allegations of corruption,” Equality Florida Executive Director NadineSmith said in reaction to the indictment. “The courts will sort through that sordid mess but we know he’s made many false statements about the LGBTQ community. Florida parents are forced to navigate schools that are less safe for their children because Joe Harding’s political ambitions know no bounds.”
Oh well, we guess if a jury determines Harding should go to prison forever, who are we to say any different? Do the crime, do the time, ya son of a bitch.
In unrelated news about a totally different Florida white man being charged with crimes, here is the headline of the century:
Goddamn, don’t even know what to say about that one.
Go to jail, EVERYONE.
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