TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) – Florida’s Republican candidate for governor Byron Donalds held a town hall at Florida A&M University (FAMU) that escalated into heated engagement with attendees and was interrupted by an unexpected fire alarm.
Originally scheduled as a debate between Donalds and his opponent David Jolly, he hosted this town hall Tuesday to engage with student voters and answer their questions.
Tensions arose between Donalds and students in the audience on FAMU’s 287(g) agreements and questions about critical race theory.
“We want our children to not only be able to attend one of our universities, but also have degrees that will allow them to be economically viable,” Donalds said. “My view and my focus with our state university system is to make sure that when a young adult gets a degree from a state university, that degree is not just a piece of paper.”
Law enforcement present at the event would not comment on what triggered the alarm.
Some students attending the event are speculating on possible explanations for the fire alarm.
“Obviously there’s no fire in there,” said FAMU student Kevin Louis-June. “We honestly think that someone just yanked that fire alarm. They were trying to end at 9, and the alarm went off around 8:59. The running governor did try to push that time, but I really do think that someone did hit that alarm. It was really random.”
David Jolly is set to host his own town hall on FAMU’s campus Oct. 12.
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