Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is asking a federal judge to rule that the Federal Emergency Management Agency and one of its former employees violated the civil rights of Florida residents when federal aid crews ordered to avoid hurricane-destroyed homes with Trump campaign signs and flags.

In a federal complaint filed Wednesday, Moody said the state wants to take legal action against Marn’i Washington, a fired FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance worker who led crews in Florida after Hurricane Milton, for saying his team to avoid homes advertising pro-Trump. signs.

“While the facts will continue to come to light over the weeks and months, it is clear that Defendant Washington conspired with senior FEMA officials, as well as those carrying out his orders, to violate human rights civil rights of citizens of Florida,” the complaint states.

The legal battle is the latest attempt to seek accountability over the episode, which has already led Republican lawmakers in Washington to threaten a congressional investigation and the DeSantis administration to launch a state investigation into the matter.

“I am taking swift legal action to uncover the extent of this political discrimination and to ensure that all Americans affected by devastating storms are served, regardless of political affiliation,” Moody said in a statement Thursday.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell – who publicly called Washington’s directive “reprehensible” and said it violated FEMA’s “core values ​​and principles” – is also named in Moody’s lawsuit.

In the federal complaint, Moody acknowledges Criswell’s conviction of Washington, but notes that Washington said in an interview that FEMA made her a “scapegoat” and that she insisted she was a ” scapegoat.”

Earlier this week, Washington told Roland Martin, a longtime media commentatorin its digital broadcast, says FEMA provides clear instructions for disengaging from “politically hostile” communities, regardless of political affiliation. Washington said that in previous deployments, Washington had instructed his team to avoid streets where several homes had been verbally abusive toward FEMA canvassers — including properties that featured signs for the Harris campaign and homes without no signage.

“We omitted these homes for security reasons, not because of the political situation,” Washington said.

Moody says his lawsuit aims to uncover a broader conspiracy, citing Washington’s comments that FEMA officials claiming not to know the agency was discriminating against Trump supporters promotes a ‘lie’ .

“As Florida officials worked with local government, nonprofits, and the public to recover and rebuild, FEMA workers were instructed to deny assistance to Trump supporters,” the complaint states. .

“While the facts will continue to come to light over the weeks and months, it is clear that Defendant Washington conspired with senior FEMA officials, as well as those carrying out his orders, to violate human rights civil rights of citizens of Florida,” the complaint states.

Moody asks the court to determine that FEMA conspired to interfere with the civil rights of Florida citizens and seeks nominal and punitive damages.

A FEMA spokesperson declined to comment on the ongoing litigation and pointed to Criswell’s public statements that the federal agency will continue to hold people accountable if they violate the agency’s standards of conduct.

“This employee has been terminated and we have referred the matter to the Office of Special Counsel,” Criswell said in the release. “I will continue to do everything I can to ensure this never happens again.”

Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Michael Wilner, McClatchy’s chief Washington correspondent, contributed to this report.