Florida's newly appointed secretary of state resigned Thursday after the emergence of photos from 2005 of him in blackface, apparently mimicking victims of Hurricane Katrina, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.
The photos - which were obtained by the Democrat and presented to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' office on Thursday - show Michael Ertel wearing blackface with red lipstick and a New Orleans Saints bandanna. He also donned a shirt that read "Katrina Victim," the Democrat reports.
Ertel, 49, confirmed to the Democrat that he was the man pictured: "There's nothing I can say," he said.
Florida state officials did not respond to requests for comments from The Post.
According to the Democrat, Ertel submitted his resignation around 2 p.m. by email. The governor's office accepted Ertel's resignation shortly after seeing the photos, the newspaper reported.