Florida Republicans pack mask-free into event to hear Gov. Ron DeSantis brag and lie

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hosted a large gathering last weekend with dozens of Republican activists despite the coronavirus pandemic that continues to ravage the state.

Photos from the event shared on social media showed few of the attendees wearing masks, including DeSantis, or practicing social distancing, reported The Daily Beast.

“Florida is in great hands and everyone in this photo is going to work like hell to crush whomever runs against him in order to keep it going," tweeted Christian Ziegler, state GOP vice chairman, who tweeted out a photo of the maskless event.

The state GOP chairman, state Sen. Joe Gruters, also tweeted a photo of the crowd showing himself standing beside DeSantis, who baselessly suggested that Joe Biden's victory was illegitimate.

“In Florida, people can have the confidence that this [election] was done above board and done right,” DeSantis said. “We don't wait three weeks to then change the winner with vote dumps and all this other stuff that you are seeing go around.”

No coronavirus infections have been traced to the weekend event yet, but health experts say everyone who attended put themselves at risk.

“Unfortunately this event contradicts the advice of public health experts in a large number of ways,” said Dr. Jill Roberts, an infectious disease expert and University of South Florida professor. “This event may have needlessly exposed people to coronavirus.”