Gov. Rick Scott misspoke about Charlottesville violence, his staff says

Diverging from an earlier position, Gov. Rick Scott on Monday echoed President Donald Trump’s claim that “both sides” bore blame for the recent racially charged violence in Virginia, saying, “there’s no moral authority on both sides.”

But hours after the governor made the statement, his press shop started to walk back his comments. A spokeswoman for Scott said that instead of saying "moral authority," he meant there was no "moral equivalency" between the white supremacists and progressive activists that publicly clashed Aug. 12, a position Scott took last week.

“As you know, it was horrible what happened in Charlottesville. It was evil. There’s no place in our society for KK(K) for neo-Nazis or for white supremacists,” said Scott on Monday at Stevens Construction in Fort Myers, while discussing job growth.

"There’s no moral authority on both sides. We saw white supremacists accused of killing that young lady. And I have a daughter about the same age as her.”

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Scott repeated the phrase “both sides” on Monday when asked whether he agreed with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, that white supremacists were 100 percent to blame for inciting the violence or with Trump that “both sides” were to blame.

But Scott broke off midway through his comment and instead expressed sorrow for Heather Heyer, 32, who was killed when an Ohio man — who had marched with white supremacist groups Aug. 11-12 — drove his car through a crowd of counter-protesters.

“On both sides was — the, what happened to that young lady was horrible,” said Scott.

He said his father fought Nazis in World War II and called on elected officials around the country, including Trump, to “talk about how we bring this country together again,” saying, “I oppose racism” and “bigotry.”

The violent clash in Charlottesville has energized extremists and hate groups who are now planning for more protests throughout the country. There are 63 active hate groups in Florida, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a Montgomery, Alabama-based civil-rights organization. There are 917 hate groups in the United States, according to the Center.

Trump has come under fire from members of his own party, including Rubio, for not clearly apportioning blame to hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, white supremacists and neo-Nazis for the public clash between them and counter-protesters.

Before the chaos erupted, white nationalists were originally in Charlottesville to oppose the city’s removal of a statue memorializing the Confederacy’s top general – Robert E. Lee. 

Lee County was named after the Confederate general and the local community is currently grappling with whether to remove two of its own prominent statues representing him.

Scott lives in neighboring Collier County but wouldn’t weigh in on the matter Monday, saying, “We have representative government and everybody needs to go through that process and work through that process.”

Similarly, Scott again wouldn’t comment on whether he supports removing a Confederate monument on the state’s Capitol grounds in Tallahassee, as the Miami Herald first reported, saying, “that process goes through the legislative process. And so, as that process, if any of it comes to my desk, I’ll review it.”

When asked why he wouldn’t give his input on whether the monument at the state’s Capitol should be moved, he repeated his earlier remarks.

“We have a process. And so one thing I’ve tried to do in my job is work through the way this country is set up. We have at all levels a representative government where everybody has the opportunity to weigh in on all those decisions. And at the appropriate time, I’ll be part of that.”

Confederate monuments in Gainesville, Orlando and St. Petersburg already have been moved. Plans have been made to move one in Tampa, while debates continue for those in Fort Myers, Pensacola, Tallahassee and other cities.

Efforts to remove these memorials intensified after June 17, 2015, when Dylann Roof, since convicted on 33 counts of federal hate crimes and sentenced to death, killed nine blacks at a church in Charleston, South Carolina.

Two other Republican governors have been more outspoken in their positions about removing monuments. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan last week called on taking down a statehouse statue of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Roger B. Taney, who defended slavery and said black people cannot be citizens through his writing of the 1857 Dred Scott decision.

“While we cannot hide from our history — nor should we — the time has come to make clear the difference between properly acknowledging our past and glorifying the darkest chapters of our history,” Hogan said in a statement. “I believe removing the Justice Roger B. Taney statue from the State House grounds is the right thing to do.”

But Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, also a Republican, has opposed the push to remove Confederate statues.

“I absolutely disagree with this sanitization of history," Bevin told WVHU radio on Tuesday.

In addition to fielding press questions regarding Charlottesville and Confederate monuments, Scott spoke about two Kissimmee police officers who died over the weekend.

Officer Matthew Baxter and Sgt. Richard Howard were shot and killed by Everett Glenn Miller, 45, who struggled with mental health problems, police said. 

Miller was arrested on Friday night and faces first-degree murder. Instead of keeping the case’s prosecution with Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala, who opposes the death penalty, Scott gave the case instead to Ocala State Attorney Brad King, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

“You should expect that every state attorney is going to prosecute to the full extent of the law. And to make sure that’s going to happen, in this case, I moved that case to Brad King, another state attorney. He’ll make a decision, how to prosecute that case,” said Scott. “What happened in Kissimmee was horrible for that community and those families.”

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Transcript:

Q: Governor, a lot of talk about confederate monuments around the country. Here in Fort Myers, we have two dedicated to Robert E. Lee. People are calling for them to be taken down. Do you believe confederate monuments should come down?

A: You know, we live in a great country where at the local level, at the state level, at the federal level, you know, we have policy decisions, we make decisions about things like monuments. And so, we have representative government and everybody needs to go through that process and work through that process. 

As you know, it was horrible what happened in Charlottesville. It was evil. There’s no place in our society for KKR, for neo-Nazis or for white supremacists. There’s no moral authority on both sides. We saw white supremacists accused of killing that young lady. And I have a daughter about the same age as her. 

My father served and fought against the Nazis in the second world war. I had the opportunity to serve in the navy. I didn’t join to defend neo-Nazis. I do expect that all of our elected officials all around the state and federal and local level, including the president, figure out how we bring this country together. 

In my job, what I try to work on every day is how do we make it better for every family. Get them a job, get their kids a good education, keep people safe. I don’t think any of us are ever going to tolerate KKK and neo-Nazis or white supremacists.

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Q: But just to be clear, governor, do you personally believe confederate monuments should come down?

A: Let me be clear: there is a process to go through. We all need to go through that process. There’s a conversation in Tallahassee about a monument there. That process goes through the legislative process. And so, as that process, if any of it comes to my desk, I’ll review it.

Q: Governor, just to piggyback off of that question, though. There’s nothing keeping you from saying what you think should happen with the monuments. You haven’t weighed in on that monument in Tallahassee at the Capitol, why is that? Why won’t you just tell us what you think about what should be done with the monuments?

A: We have a process. And so one thing I’ve tried to do in my job is work through the way this country is set up. We have at all levels, a representative government where everybody has the opportunity to weigh in on all those decisions. And, at the appropriate time, I’ll be part of that. 

But, let me also be clear that what happened in Charlottesville was evil. There’s no place in our society for KKR, neo-Nazis, white supremacists. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure we unify this state. And that’s part of what I do as governor.

Q: Governor, can you speak at all to the decision to remove the state attorney from the Orange-County-officer-involved shooting?  

A: Sure. I think, first off, that what happened in Kissimmee was horrible for that community and those families. You should expect that every state attorney is going to prosecute to the full extent of the law. And to make sure that’s going to happen, in this case, I moved that case to Brad King, another state attorney. He’ll make a decision, how to prosecute that case.

Q: Governor, last question. Part of being an elected representative is being a leader. And Sen. Marco Rubio said he believed white supremacists were 100% to blame for inciting the violence in Charlottesville. President Donald Trump said that he thought that many sides were to blame. Where do you fall on the spectrum between those two GOP leaders?

A: I’ve been very clear that what happened in Charlottesville was evil, there was bigotry. I oppose that. I oppose racism. There’s no place in our society for KKR, for white supremacists, neo-Nazis. Um, the what happ– There was no moral high ground on one side. 

Um, you know, the um, on both sides was – the, what happened to that young lady was horrible. You know, I think about – when these things happen you always think about your family. And I think about the daughter, the young lady is about the same age as one of my daughters. But, I served in the military. My dad fought the Nazis. I’ve met a lot of Holocaust survivors. 

Um, we need to, as elected officials, we need to talk about how we bring this country together again. I expect everybody to do that including the president. And I’m going to continue to try to do that in my job.

USA Today Network - Florida reporter David Dorsey contributed to this article.