James Uthmeier describes Democratic lawmakers criticizing ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ as ‘weird’

Following a lawsuit filed by several prominent Florida Democrats seeking increased access to the “Alligator Alcatraz” immigrant internment facility, Attorney General James Uthmeier labeled those political leaders as “weird.”

Uthmeier said he’s amazed that several Democratic leaders said they didn’t get proper access to the facility following a visit last weekend.

“I believe they got to just take a tour. So, I don’t believe they were denied access,” Uthmeier said during an event in Orlando. “Some of them tried to climb into the holding spaces with the detainees. That’s not allowed in any facility. That’s just weird.”

Democratic lawmakers — Sens. Shevrin Jones and Carlos Guillermo Smith and Reps. Anna Eskamani, Angie Nixon and Michele Rayner — sued the Gov. Ron DeSantis administration last week over “denial of unannounced access” to the site, which they called “blatantly unconstitutional” after they were refused entry July 3.

The Florida Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the case should go back down to a lower court.

Lawmakers did get access last weekend, via a guided tour from the DeSantis administration, to the training airport on the edge of the Everglades that in recent weeks has become a staging ground for deportations from President Donald Trump’s administration. But those Democrats say the visit was tightly controlled, and that they were denied the ability to access certain areas or interact with detainees.

Many Democrats say those being held at the facility were rounded up on minor charges such as traffic infractions and are far from the wanton outlaws the Trump and DeSantis administrations claim are being placed in the camp.

Uthmeier said he sees it differently.

“Hundreds of the people at this facility are wanted for some very serious and gruesome offenses,” Uthmeier said.

He added that some Florida lawmakers who had access to the facility over the weekend went out of their way to make it seem as inhumane as possible. Uthmeier said conditions are acceptable.

“These Democrats, I mean they were taking thermometers and putting them up to warm lights to try and get a false temperature read to dishonestly portray that it was hot in an air-conditioned facility,” Uthmeier said. “They complained that toilets and sinks shouldn’t be in the same room.”

Ultimately, at least according to Uthmeier, many of those Democratic lawmakers have lost touch with their purpose when it comes to the camp in the Everglades.

“They were elected to serve American people. Yet, they’re crying and bending over backwards to fight for illegal aliens, many of them who are wanted for serious crimes,” Uthmeier said.

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A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics contributed to this report.