Florida Democratic Senate candidate Angie Nixon doubled and then tripled down on her call for her Republican opponent, Sen. Ashley Moody, to be “locked up” during a stunning CNN appearance this week.
Nixon appeared alongside Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut on CNN’s “The Arena” with Kasie Hunt, where she appeared to catch the host off guard by flatly calling for Moody to be put behind bars.
The remarks came after Hunt asked Nixon about potentially seeking an endorsement from former President Barack Obama. Nixon said she would be excited about that possibility, but quickly pivoted to attacking Moody and calling for her to be jailed, while Murphy sat awkwardly in silence beside her.
Nixon blasted Moody as a “lying, cheating, thieving, scamming person,” accusing her of steering Medicaid money into “slush funds” for Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“The fact remains that Ashley Moody is a lying, cheating, thieving, scamming person who basically took $10 million from sick kids for the Medicaid program,” Nixon said. “And she rerouted that into two political slush funds for Ron DeSantis to defeat two citizen-led ballot initiatives. She also voted to end healthcare for over 440,000 people here in the state of Florida.”
Nixon then turned to campaign ads targeting her, claiming they spread “disinformation and lies” by saying she wants to abolish prisons and defund the police.
“Why would I want to do that when I want her locked up and punished in jail for what she has done?” Nixon said, adding that she looks forward to being called “senator on November 3rd.”
Nixon has made similar calls in the past, but Hunt pressed her to clarify exactly what she meant.
“You want your Republican opponent locked up?” Hunt asked.
“You know, she…yeah, basically, yes, because of what she did. Yes, I absolutely would want that to happen. Yes. I’ve been perfectly clear,” Nixon responded.
“Do you feel like you have enough evidence that that would be a warranted punishment?” Hunt pressed.
Nixon’s accusations stem from Moody’s tenure as Florida attorney general, when her office approved $10 million from a Medicaid settlement to go to the Hope Florida foundation, an initiative founded by Casey DeSantis, the governor’s wife. Those funds eventually ended up with political action committees.
A Leon County grand jury found the money was “misappropriated,” but no criminal charges were brought due to insufficient evidence, according to CBS News Miami, which obtained the sealed report in August.
“We recognize that this would be an impediment to criminal prosecution,” the report states. “While we can’t prove who is responsible, we can plainly see that taxpayer money was misused for political purposes and we would like to see changes made to prevent this from happening again.”
Nixon vowed to push for a new investigation if she defeats Moody, taking aim at the court that blocked the grand jury report’s release.
“What we have seen is that the DCA, the first DCA has decided to wipe out the release of the grand jury report, and that first DCA judge was actually appointed by Ron DeSantis,” she said. “And what we are seeing is corruption through and through.”
Nixon said she would “definitely call for an investigation” as a U.S. senator, claiming people are angry and adding that “we don’t know how many children are potentially going to die” because the $10 million was not used as intended.
[READ MORE: Michigan Senate Hopeful Abdul El-Sayed Faces Questions After Denying Family Ties to Muslim Brotherhood]
