Florida Secretary of State Michael Ertel Resigns After Photos of Him Dressed in Blackface Surface
By Fox News // January 24, 2019
Ertel swore into office on Jan. 8
(FOX NEWS) – Florida’s Secretary of State resigned on Thursday after a local newspaper obtained photos of him dressed in blackface as a Hurricane Katrina victim.
Michael Ertel, 49, a Republican working for Gov. Ron DeSantis, submitted his resignation at 2 p.m., just hours after he testified about election lawsuits before a state legislative committee. He was sworn into office on Jan. 8.
Shortly after Ertel’s resignation, which he wrote would immediately take effect, the Tallahassee Democrat published photos of Ertel from 2005, a reported two months after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the Gulf Coast region.
They allegedly show Ertel, then the Seminole County supervisor of elections, wearing blackface, red lipstick, earrings and falsies underneath a purple shirt that had the words “Katrina Victim” on it.
The newspaper reported that when it texted Ertel the photos, he identified himself as the person pictured. “There’s nothing I can say,” Ertel reportedly told the Democrat.
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