Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis claims he recently “saw people defecating on the sidewalk” – an act he chalked up to “woke” ideology – during a speech at a Faith and Freedom Coalition event on Friday.

The 2024 Republican presidential candidate, who spoke at the coalition’s “Road to Majority” conference, spoke about a popular Republican bogeyman – “woke” – as he warned of the mindset’s impact on the criminal justice system.

“When woke overtakes our criminal justice system – like it has in San Francisco, like it has in Los Angeles – the average person becomes less safe in their communities as a result,” said DeSantis, who vowed to leave “woke ideology in the dustbin of history.”

“Don’t tell me it doesn’t affect people’s lives. I was just in San Francisco. I saw – in 20 minutes on the ground – people defecating on the sidewalk. I saw people using fentanyl. I saw people smoking crack right there in the open, right there on the street. It was a civilization in decay.”