The Justice Department could investigate Biden administration emergency response employees who “systematically” avoided helping disaster survivors who displayed yard signs or flags supporting Donald Trump or the Second Amendment.
The practice goes back to 2021, according to an internal review by the Department of Homeland Security released Tuesday.
The report, issued by the DHS Privacy Office, also found Federal Emergency Management Agency staffers collected information about the political beliefs of disaster survivors and used that information to delay assistance.
“The federal government was withholding aid against Americans in crisis based on their political beliefs—this should horrify every American, regardless of political persuasion,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a public statement.
“For years, FEMA employees under the Biden administration intentionally delayed much-needed aid to Americans suffering from natural disasters on purely political grounds,” Noem added. “They deliberately avoided houses displaying support for President Trump and the Second Amendment, illegally collected and stored information about survivors’ political beliefs, and failed to report their malicious behavior. We will not let this stand.”
Noem ordered an internal review on the matter based on a whistleblower who reported last year that, after Hurricane Milton in 2024 in North Carolina, FEMA employees were directed to bypass homes with Trump signs.
Then-FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said it was an isolated incident.
The DHS internal probe showed this was a pattern that also occurred during multiple disasters dating back to 2021 during Hurricane Ida in Louisiana.
The DHS referred the findings to the Department of Justice for further investigation and potential prosecution. It also referred the case to the DHS Office of the Inspector General.
“FEMA violated the Privacy Act of 1974 by collecting and maintaining prohibited information about individuals’ political beliefs and used this irrelevant data to make unfair decisions, such as bypassing select homes during disaster relief efforts,” the report says.
The DHS Privacy Office says it will issue clear recommendations to FEMA to address these violations and prevent future ones. The DHS also instructed FEMA to implement rigorous oversight and auditing mechanisms.
