James Fishback again invokes Byron Donalds’ race in pitch to end gun waiting period

Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback — who may soon be disqualified from running for Governor — is again using racially charged rhetoric against Byron Donalds, this time to promote eliminating Florida’s three-day waiting period for many gun purchases.

Fishback is proposing the “B.Y.R.O.N. Act” — short for “Bolster Your Right to Own Now” — named for Donalds, the Republican front-runner in the Governor’s race and a frequent target of Fishback’s race-focused attacks.

In a video posted to YouTube, Fishback invoked Donalds’ race, portraying him as a physically imposing threat while discussing an August 2022 confrontation between Donalds and Collier County School Board Member Kelly Mason, who is now suing Donalds.

“A 90-pound female, a fellow Republican, a former teacher, a School Board member and a mom of two was confronted in a public place by Byron Donalds, a 290-pound, 6-(foot)-5 Black man who had a disagreement with her and cornered her and yelled at her in a grocery store,” Fishback said.

There was no apparent policy reason for Fishback to mention Donalds’ race. But the description was consistent with a pattern of racial taunts Fishback has directed at Donalds while trying to erode the Congressman’s substantial lead in the crowded Republican Primary.

Fishback has called Donalds a “slave” to donors and corporate interests, a “DEI Republican” and “By’rone.” Attorney General James Uthmeier, who has endorsed Donalds, called the “slave” remark “gross.”

When pressed previously about the language, Fishback argued Donalds had no standing to take offense because he is not descended from people enslaved in the United States.

In February, Fishback posted a video of himself firing an AR-15-style rifle and tagged Donalds in the caption: “Pull up. Let’s see if you’re actually black.”

Last month, he posted a 41-second campaign ad provocatively titled “Byron Donalds is Black.” In it, Fishback insisted that “race doesn’t matter.”

His latest proposal relies on the premise that Mason might have needed immediate access to a gun to protect herself from Donalds.

“If that woman went to buy a gun that afternoon, she would be told, ‘No. Wait. Not a day. Not two. Three days,’” he said. “Wait three full days, as a law-abiding citizen, to buy a pistol to protect yourself, your kids and your property.”

Notably, Mason is suing Donalds for assault, alleging he threatened and intimidated her at a grocery store over a legal complaint she previously filed against his wife, Erika Donalds, a former business partner of Mason’s.

The exchange was captured on video. Mason alleged that Donalds “berated and insulted her” and said he could “crush” or “finish her.” Donalds’ campaign called the lawsuit “a baseless, politically motivated attack and shameful publicity stunt designed to damage” his candidacy, according to the Florida Phoenix.

Fishback said he takes the Second Amendment literally, adding that “a right delayed is a right denied.” But there are existing ways around Florida’s three-day waiting period.

Exemptions include people with valid Florida concealed-weapon licenses; law enforcement, correctional and probation officers; military service members; people trading in another firearm; and rifle or shotgun buyers with qualifying hunter-safety certifications.

The “B.Y.R.O.N. Act” is not Fishback’s first attempt to associate his campaign with guns and implied political threats. A political committee tied to him recently sent supporters a text depicting Fishback in gun sights and suggesting that his opponents wanted him “stopped at all costs.”

Fishback has also appeared on a podcast with influencers who have described themselves as admirers of Adolf Hitler.

Whether Fishback will remain in the race long enough to advance his proposal is uncertain.

Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, another Republican candidate for Governor, has sued Fishback and the Department of State, alleging Fishback does not meet the Florida Constitution’s seven-year residency requirement for gubernatorial candidates.

In December, Florida Politics reported that Fishback has been registered for years to vote in both Florida and Washington, D.C., where he voted in 2020 and subsequently purchased a condominium on which he received a homestead exemption.

After months of denying he cast a ballot in the 2020 election, Fishback admitted to doing so in court Tuesday, claiming he simply provided his Florida ID and voted only in the presidential race.

To vote in D.C., someone must declare at least 30 days of residency, provide valid identification, not claim voting residence or the right to vote in another state, and sign documents avowing such.

Knowingly signing a false declaration can bring up to a $10,000 fine, five years’ imprisonment or both.

Judge David Frank of the 2nd Judicial Circuit is set to rule on the matter by 5 p.m. Monday.