Republican behind Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill resigns after federal indictment
Florida state representative Joe Harding, the Republican lawmaker who sponsored the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, resigned after he was indicted by a federal grand jury for COVID-19 business relief fraud and money laundering.
The indictment, which was unsealed on 7 December, states that between 1 December 2020 and 1 March 2021, Harding obtained $150,000 (£122,500) in small business loans related to the COVID-19 pandemic by using the names of two dormant companies.
One of these was The Vak Shack, which his website says sells discount vacuum cleaner bags, while the other, Harding Farms, is said to be a 46-acre horse and cattle facility.
Both companies were not active in Florida from May 2017 to December 2020. It is also believed that he used false bank statements as supporting documentation on applications for these under the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan.
