DeSantis Grants Clemency to Gym Owners Arrested and Charged for Opposing Mask Mandate

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced that he will grant clemency for any Floridian that is prosecuted for not wearing masks or social distancing. Gov. DeSantis made the announcement on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle,  surprised Michael and Jillian Carnevale, two gym owners that were arrested three times and facing jail time for refusing to enforce Broward County’s mandate for their customers to wear a mask while exercising, who were also on the program.

The Carnevale’s are were scheduled to be sentenced on May 18, but Gov. DeSantis stepped in, stating that effective May 13, he was going to sign a reprieve under his “constitutional authority” to delay their case.

“It’s a total overreach Laura, this is exactly what we ordered against last Summer, many, many months ago. I was just recently briefed on this case, and we looked at it,” said DeSantis.” And, so I’m glad you have Mike and Jillian on, and I’m glad to be on to say, effective tomorrow morning, I am going to sign a reprieve under my constitutional authority. So that will delay the case for 60 days against both of them. And then when our clemency board meets in the coming weeks, we’ll issue pardons not only for Mike and Jillian but for any Floridian that may have outstanding infractions for things like masks and social distancing.

DeSantis then qualified his actions by saying that the World Health Organization has advised that exercising with a mask on was not healthy, and has advised against it.

“The fact is, it's not even right to be wearing masks when you're exercising the World Health Organization advises against it, it's not healthy for people to be doing that in the 1st place,” added DeSantis.  “So, it was a bad restriction but these things with health should be advisory, they should not be punitive and so we're happy to use our constitutional authority I think they've been treated poorly and Fortunately they got a governor that cares.”

Before he announced that he would grant clemency to all Floridians facing prosecution for defying local mask mandates, DeSantis appeared in Jacksonville where he announced that school children should not have to wear masks in class.

"These kids do not need to be wearing these masks, OK? I'm sorry, they don't," DeSantis said during a news conference at Christ the King Catholic School in Jacksonville. "We need to be able to let them be kids and let them act normally. And that's what should be the case in the fall throughout the school year."