- Langevin posted that Indians should “stay in India” and spoke of the “Indian question.”
- A Tuesday (30) council meeting collapsed but became a town hall with Mayor Rob Medina.
- Medina praised Indian Americans’ contributions and called for unity.
- Hundreds of residents demanded Langevin’s resignation.
Councilman Kenny Johnson has pushed for Governor Ron DeSantis to suspend Langevin.Palm Bay, Florida is facing a political storm after Councilmember Chandler Langevin's anti-Indian American remarks on X triggered widespread outrage. A special city council meeting on Tuesday (30), called to address his comments, ended early due to lack of quorum but quickly turned into a town hall by Rob Medina.
Langevin has drawn criticism for a series of controversial posts, including one that read: “INDIA is having its people INVADE OUR COUNTRY, and is actively PAYING PEOPLE to try to SHUT THE PUBLIC UP.” He followed it with: “Every Republican official in my county just posted a copy paste statement supporting Indians because I said they need to stop Indian migration.” In another post, he added: “We must address the Indian question,” a phrase chillingly reminiscent of Nazi rhetoric.
The backlash was swift. Nearly 200 residents packed the council chambers, many from Brevard Country's Indian American community, demanding action. Langevin did not attend the meeting. Only Counciman Mike Hammar joined initially but left early, leaving Medina to preside over an impromptu listening session.
Medina denounced the remarks in an open letter, praising Palm Bay's diversity. “Palm Bay’s strength has always come from the diversity of its people… words that demean or devalue others have no place in Palm Bay,” he said, highlighting the contributions of Indian Americans to business, science, medicine, and politics.
Councilman Kenny Johnson, the sole Democrat on the council, has gone further, placing an item on the Thursday (2) agenda to petition Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to suspend Langevin from office.
Despite the mounting criticism, Langevin has doubled down. On X, he wrote: “The sole Democrat on Palm Bay City Council has put an item on the agenda to call on @GovRonDeSantis to suspend me… I stand by my comments.”
Community leaders strongly condemned his stance. Businessman Mike Shah of Southeast Petro Distributors warned: “Racism is not good for anybody. I have young children… acts like this will affect how people treat them.” Amar Patel, CEO of Brevard Achievement Center, said Langevin could not claim true leadership without retracting his remarks.
Speakers demanded Langevin’s resignation, insisting racism has no place in Palm Bay. The issue now heads to Thursday’s council meeting, where his future will be tested.
