Ron DeSantis Appointee, Jeffery Moore, Resigns After Appearance In KKK Costume

Gadsden Country commissioner Jeffery Moore, who was appointed to his position by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), resigned last week after a photo of him in a Ku Klux Klan costume surfaced.

A Gadsden Co. commissioner, appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, abruptly resigned from the post in Florida’s only predominantly Black county after a photo surfaced purportedly showing him wearing a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood at what could have been a Halloween party years earlier. pic.twitter.com/iadi4gI323

— Christopher Cann (@ChrisCannFL) September 27, 2022

The picture was reportedly taken years ago at a Halloween party. The other people in the photo are unidentifiable as their faces are scratched out.

Moore did not deny that the photo was of him when it was shown to him, according to Gadsden County Sheriff Morris Young, who told him he should probably resign as an official in a primarily black county.

Moore had only been in office for two months. He was appointed to replace retiring Gadsden Country commissioner Anthony Viegbesie, and at the time of his appointment, he was the only non-black official on the county commission.

DeSantis’ office declined to comment on Moore’s resignation.

“We are in the middle of hurricane prep, I’m not aware of the photo you sent but Jeff did submit his resignation last week,” Taryn Fenske, who serves as DeSantis’ communications director, told reporters last week.

In Moore’s resignation statement, he said he was stepping down for “personal reasons,” but did not mention the Ku Klux Klan Halloween costume. He also paused his campaign for District 2 County Commissioner, which will go to vote in the general election in November.