Another corruption scandal is unraveling under the leadership of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, this time with leadership of the Florida State Guard (FSG) receiving credible claims of sexual harassment, embezzlement of taxpayer funds and threatening whistleblowers.
FSG Executive Director Mark Thieme was appointed to his role by DeSantis in 2023 after the force was revived by DeSantis the previous year to improve disaster relief response during emergencies. Unfortunately, it quickly devolved into a slush fund of sorts for Thieme who has been able to operate without adequate oversight from the DeSantis administration.
State Guard whistleblowers Jonathan Howard and Jordan Bowen have released viral videos on social media detailing the level of corruption that has occurred due to Thieme’s derelict leadership. Bowen was a former Special Missions Unit Commander and Air Force Pararescue while Howard has worked with the nonprofit Aerial Recovery and during Hurricane Helene in September 2024, he led rescue missions throughout North Carolina, saving lives and raising over a million for the victims of that tragedy.
The allegations from the whistleblowers include Thieme’s unethical state expenditures to receive his private pilots’ license. Thieme allegedly spent over $64,000 in flight time alone. When factoring in fuel costs along two pilots and maintenance, the total goes up to well over $100,000 billed to the taxpayer so Thieme could get flight lessons for purposes unrelated to the FSG. He also allegedly cancelled real-world missions alongside different agencies to train for his license.
Thieme fired Bowen from his commander role despite his tremendous professional credentials and the fact that Bowen received a leadership award for the Guard’s actions in North Carolina after he refused an order from Thieme that Bowen felt was immoral. Thieme ordered Bowen to reprimand a FSG member who was previously a Delta Force operator in Black Hawk Down over consulting work he did before entering the Guard. When Bowen refused the bizarre order, Thieme fired him.
After a female member of the FSG reported that she had been receiving unwanted sexual advances from a male colleague, she was allegedly threatened and subject to workplace harassment. The man accused of sexual harassment allegedly went into her hotel room while on a mission, rifling through her personal belongings. By the time the FSG ended their investigation, they reportedly found that nothing improper had occurred. The alleged victim would be demoted while the alleged perpetrator would receive a promotion.
The former director of aviation came out with additional allegations against Thieme. He accused Thieme of instructing the aviation response battalion to spend approximately $4 million in unrequired aircraft parts near the end of fiscal year to run up the budgets. He accused Thieme of overseeing failures leading to an apparent loss of roughly $3 million dollars in Fiscal Year 2025, forcing other divisions to pay the tab for Thieme’s incompetence and corruption. Thieme also allegedly pressured staff to execute aircraft purchases despite the fact that they served no practical purpose for FSG missions so he and his friends could take flights across the state paid for by the taxpayer.
“If this were a normal company and the IRS were looking into this, they would be going to jail,” said Bowen, who has filed a lawsuit against Thieme in the 1st District of Florida.
“I am certain that if this were to make it into court, every single member, every staff that has worked with this guy will clearly articulate the wrongdoings, the illegal requests that they’ve heard,” Bowen added.
New repressive policies have been implemented by Thieme to prevent social media disclosures about corruption in the State Guard. Anyone who speaks out is slated to be fired, but that has not quieted Howard. Howard is continuing to issue the call to raise awareness because he believes the FSG under Thieme is putting the people of Florida at risk. He hopes to get the attention of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. A multi-time Republican voter, Howard has been dismayed at the lack of response from Republicans to his attempts to blow the whistle.
“I voted for DeSantis twice and President Trump three times so anyone who tries to say I am a Democrat is a clown. When corruption is happening, you can call it out as long as it’s on the Democrat side, but the minute it happens on the Republican side, they all want to cover it up,” Howard said.
As seen with the misappropriation scandal where the Hope Florida charity run by DeSantis’ wife Casey pilfered Medicaid funds to fund a PAC administered by DeSantis’ then-Chief of Staff (now AG) James Uthmeier to oppose a cannabis legalization proposal, the DeSantis administration is fine with corruption when it is their inner circle who are benefitting from the grift. This time however, the DeSantis administration’s shady dealings are actively putting the people in danger by jeopardizing emergency response. The cost of the DeSantis administration’s greed could be human life the next time there is a serious natural disaster in the state of Florida.
