Angie Nixon Defends Position on Prisons Amid Controversy
Democrat Angie Nixon, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) who is campaigning for the Senate seat currently held by Republican Ashley Moody, is rejecting claims that she advocates for the abolition of prisons. To support her stance, she cites her desire for her opponent to be “locked up and punished.”
“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 remarked during an interview on CNN with host Kasie Hunt, referencing the controversy surrounding the Hope Florida Foundation.
She elaborated, “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 Florida. They’re spreading a lot of disinformation about me, claiming that I want to abolish prisons and defund the police.”
Nixon continued, “Why would I want to do that when I want her locked up and punished for what she has done?”
When Hunt pressed further, asking, “You want your Republican opponent locked up?” Nixon answered affirmatively.
“Basically, yes. Because of what she did, yes. I absolutely would want that to happen. Yes,” she concluded.
Notably, Nixon has been vocally accusing Moody of dishonesty, particularly regarding what she refers to as the misuse of funds intended for the Hope Florida Foundation, which allegedly opposed the marijuana ballot measure, Amendment 3, in 2024. The DeSantis administration has denied any allegations of wrongdoing.
Governor DeSantis responded, saying, “The 1st DCA eviscerated the phony narratives re: AHCA’s pre-suit settlement and the private donation to DCF’s direct support organization, the Hope foundation.” He stated:
1. No “misappropriation”
2. No tax dollars were used at all
3. No Medicaid money was involved with the donation
Moody, Florida’s former attorney general, continues to assert that she has done nothing wrong and claims she was unaware of where the funds would be allocated. Also, the grand jury report has since been purged, leaving insufficient evidence to press charges.
“There have been numerous reports that misrepresent the facts surrounding an AHCA settlement agreement that has been available to the public for two years. Understanding this is political season and there may be a tendency to misrepresent the facts, it is important to clarify three points,” Moody stated in an August social media post:
1. The Centene settlement agreement was negotiated by AHCA, a Florida healthcare agency. The agreement clarified how settlement money would be dispersed, including funds going to Hope Florida.
2. As is standard practice, the AG’s Office was one of multiple agencies that signed the final agreement for execution and release of claims.
She emphasized that the attorney general’s office “had no knowledge of how funds would be spent or played any role in how Hope Florida, AHCA, or the legislature would spend the settlement money.”
“Attempts to characterize this any other way are disingenuous,” she asserted.
Nonetheless, Nixon expressed her intention to push for an investigation into Moody despite the current lack of evidence to justify such measures.
“What we have seen, right, what we have seen is that the DCA, the first DCA here, has decided to wipe out the release of the grand jury report, and that first DCA judge was actually appointed by Ron DeSantis. And what we are seeing is corruption through and through,” Nixon claimed.
“I would definitely call for an investigation as a federal lawmaker when I become a U.S. senator to actively go in to see what happened. People are upset. We don’t know how many children are potentially going to suffer because that $10 million did not go to where it was supposed to go,” she added.
It’s uncertain how Nixon would manage calling for an investigation if she wins, especially considering her previous claims of extreme sensitivity, even experiencing nosebleeds from working alongside Republicans.
Interestingly, while she clarifies her opposition to abolishing prisons due to her wish for Moody to be jailed, the DSA—an organization she is a part of—actually advocates for the elimination of the prison system altogether.
