The Florida state lawmaker who sponsored the "Don't Say Gay" bill has been indicted.

[RandySF]

Link to tweet

?s=20&t=_ed6csYySTsIvXiPhiGcgg

Jesse Rodriguez

@JesseRodriguez
The Florida state lawmaker who sponsored the "Don't Say Gay" bill has been indicted.

Florida State Rep. Joe Harding (R) has been charged with wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements, according to the US Attorney's Office.

[hibbing]

1. Don't say law and order n/t

[onecaliberal]

2. FAFO

[marble falls]

3. He may not say gay, but the jury can say 'guilty'.

[SheltieLover]

7. Bazinga!

[calimary]

18. Oh Yeah!!!

But I can’t help wondering what his motivation was. These politicians so damned hung-up on whether someone’s gay or not - might they be nursing some secret inner struggle?

[machoneman]

27. It's called D-E-F-L-E-C-T-I-O-N! Doesn't work though most of the time.

[dutch777]

4. Maybe he will go to prison. May get some education on things gay there and have more appreciation.

Schmuck!

[Cha]

5. Joe Creep Show Harding.. LOCK him UP!

TY!

[CurtEastPoint]

6. puke alert from his campaign site

Family. Faith. Community.
Joe Harding is a conservative Republican and seventh generation Floridian who was born and raised in Williston. He was first elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2020.

Harding has risen to prominence for sponsoring Florida’s Parental Rights in Education legislation, signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in March. The law requires public schools to keep parents fully informed and restricts classroom teaching on sex and gender theory in grades K-3.

[Timeflyer]

15. Should have heeded your puke alert--

This scheming little dweeb is such a classic FL GOP POS. Won the Xtian Family Coalition 2022 Champion for Children award, enjoys fishing (for free money!), coaching youth sports--what a role model. NRA member, of course. Poor baby is "a target for the radical left. He must be doing something right!" His daddy was a pastor, and momma was a homeschooling mother--whoa, must stop, nauseated.

[lonely bird]

16. Faith?

My ass. I am tired of politicians bragging about their “faith” as though that has any relationship to their political performance.

[SheltieLover]

8. Kicking for visibility

[Historic NY]

9. "Just say indicted" A special DeSantis associate

[Deuce]

10. Good!!!

[MontanaMama]

12. Lock him up.

That always makes me feel better.

[AllaN01Bear]

13. hem. another one bites the dust.

[TexasBushwhacker]

14. Nice "fashy"

AKA Fascist haircut. Very popular with the Neo-Nazi crowd.

[LudwigPastorius]

17. Scratch any Republican politician, and...

underneath, you’ll find a shitbag, common criminal.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

19. details of crime

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 he 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.”

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/575007-joe-harding-indicted-on-wire-fraud-money-laundering-charges/

[malaise]

23. Oh my!

You’d think a crooked shithound like him would lay low but no - a self righteous thief.

[Evolve Dammit]

24. Aren't most Repukes self-righteous thieves? My experience says they all are to varying degrees. It

is encouraged to screw people to make more for themselves and fuck the sucker. The more, the better.

[malaise]

26. Yep

😀😀😀

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

20. "I believe right and wrong is defined by the bible. God's word is a wealth of wisdom and answers to

According to iVoterGuide, in addition to hating LGBTQ people, Harding is a huge supporter of homophobic “religious freedom” laws and believes separation of church and State means, in his words, “the State staying out of the church’s business and not the other way around.”

He also opposes same-sex marriage, going so far as to say marriage should be legally defined as “between one man and one woman”, and he doesn’t believe sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression should be included as protected classes in non-discrimination laws.

“I am a born again Christian and my faith lays the foundation for the decisions I make,” he’s reported as saying. “I believe right and wrong is defined by the bible. God’s word is a wealth of wisdom and answers to all of our current issues can be found in his word!”

https://www.queerty.com/rep-joe-harding-wants-kids-outed-parents-thats-not-even-worst-thing-20220224

[llmart]

21. Another punchable face.

I didn't even have to read the article to know he's a GOP'er.

[republianmushroom]

22. other than that just a good old republican boy

[Lunabell]

25. I was hoping he'd be indicted for playing footsie in the men's bathroom stall

a la Scott Foley.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

28. Don't say "Karma is a bitch!"

We all know it is, but don't say it

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

29. Karma baby

[IronLionZion]

30. He'll protect you from the gays while he has his hand in your pocket

Plenty of GOP like to distract people while they steal your money

[Hortensis]

31. Instead of waiting for Repubs to VOTE them out, investigating

the lot of them for criminal activities would move things along a lot faster.