- Palm Bay Councilman Chandler Langevin made racist remarks against Indian-Americans, sparking widespread outrage.
- Senator Rick Scott said there’s “no place for hate” in Florida and praised Indian-Americans’ contributions.
- Rep. Fendrice Driskell condemned Langevin’s “ignorant and anti-American” comments.
- The Palm Bay Council voted to remove Langevin and appealed to Governor Ron DeSantis.
A large number of Indian-Americans gathered at the council meeting, demanding Langevin’s ouster.Florida's Palm Bay Council is demanding the immediate removal of councilman Chandler Langevin after his racist comments targetting the Indian Americans. The controversy has drawn strong condemnation from serveral political leaders across party lines.
Republican senator and former Florida governor Rick Scott said there is no room for hate in the state. “The Indian-American community members are proud Americans and make the country great,” Scott said.
Democratic representative Fendrice Driskell also criticized Langevin, saying she was disgusted by his remarks. “Langevin has a history of bigoted attacks against people that don’t look like him. He has shown again and again that he is unfit to be a leader in his community. I hope the good people of Palm Bay reject him and his ignorance, and that he can take the time to educate himself about his neighbors and let go of this hate,” Driskell said.
Lengevin cmae under fire for saying, "There is not a single Indian in the US who cares about the United States. They only care about enriching India and Indians, exploiting the US financially.” He later deleted the post but refused to apologize, claiming his comments were aimed at “illegals or visa holders,” not Indian-Americans specifically.
The council has since voted to remove Langevin and has written Governor Ron DeSantis seeking his dismissal. DeSantis, however, has not commented on the matter. The governor himself has been vocal critic of the H-1B visa program, which he has called a 'scam.'
The Palm Bay Council meeting saw a massive turnout of Indian-Americans demanding Lengvin's removal. While some reports described it as a 'huge gathering,' Langevin downplayed it, saying, "It was more like 500 from all around Florida."
In another post on X, he wrote, “That said, the community of Americans with Indian Heritage were taken for a goat rope by the leftists and Republican politicians fell for it. That is why I reached out to the leaders of this community and will be having some important dialogue hopefully next week. The left is the threat. Everything else is a symptom of their chaos to include illegal immigration and H1-b visas.”
