TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Sen. Fine serves as chair of the Committee for Governmental Oversight and Accountability.
During public comments on Tuesday, a man named Robert Lee was on the podium making remarks when Fine informed him his 30 seconds to make remarks was up.
The men then traded words in an exchange that’s been circulating on social media.
Fine spoke with News 6 anchor Bridgett Ellison about the comments, in which he called the garments that the man was wearing, along with several other attendees in the audience, a “terrorist rag.”
Fine said he believes that the attendees wore the garments, which resembled keffiyehs, a traditional Arab headdress garment, to antagonize him because he’s Jewish.
While some disagree on the intent or the meaning, Fine said he associates the clothing items with Hamas, which was designated as a terrorist organization in 1997.
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
He said the clip circulating of his comment doesn’t tell the whole story of the nearly two-hour meeting that covered several bills. He said that when reviewed in its entirety, the meeting had several incidents of heckling and disrespect that built up, culminating in Fine’s response and warning the public speakers that they could be removed for continued outbursts and public comments could be closed for the rest of the meeting.
Fine said more than 100 attendees came to speak or make a show of hands for the items on the agenda, but many were there to discuss SB 440, a proposed regulation against training and enforcement of gender pronouns in Florida workplaces.
While SB 440 is not Sen. Fine’s bill, as chair, he helped keep time on the comments, but said some commenters and attendees in the audience were being disruptive and disrespectful toward him, referring to him as “Madam Speaker” or “Miss Chair” to incite a response. News 6 confirmed the account by reviewing the footage of the meeting.
Fine says the Committee lost a lot of time with the extra disruptions and lack of decorum, which he says he will not stand for.
Fine says he’s not the only one in Tallahassee taking a stand against distractions that impede the lawmakers’ ability to work efficiently.
“It’s no secret that I’m Jewish, and that’s why they wore it. But I would actually note in a different committee meeting yesterday, Sen. Jason Pizzo, the leader of the Senate Democrats, made a similar comment to people who wore that terror rag. It’s not just me; any good, honest person who believes in Israel, who believes in the right of Jews to be safe, is going to call that what it is: a terrorist rag,” Fine said.
