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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis used an aviation company founded in Hillsboro to ferry undocumented immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard. Vertol Systems Company Inc. operated out of Oregon for over two decades before moving to Florida in October 2021.
Florida flew two planes full of largely Venezuelan immigrants to the tiny Massachusetts island, a common vacation destination for D.C. elites. The flight was part of a taxpayer-funded stunt by red-state lawmakers to put pressure on the Biden administration to limit border crossings.
Calls to the phone number listed on the website of the company, Vertol Systems Company Inc., were forwarded to the voicemail of James Montgomerie. He’s listed as the company’s president on its Oregon business registration filings.
Montgomerie did not immediately return the call.
According to its website, Vertol Systems “was formed in 1996, and is based in Hillsboro, Oregon” and lists a phone number with an Oregon area code. The company operates out of Destin, Fla., and Oregon state records show it ceased operations in this state last fall.
The Oregon connection was first reported by the Tampa Bay Times, which uncovered records showing the company was paid $615,000 by Florida’s Department of Transportation to fly the charter flight up the East Coast.
“These are just the beginning efforts,” DeSantis said at a press conference on Friday, CNN reported. “We’ve got an infrastructure in place now. There’s going to be a lot more that’s happening.”
Correction: An earlier version of this article state that the company was Vertol Systems Company Inc. was currently registered in Hillsboro. It filed paperwork in Oregon converting to a Florida corporation in the fall of 2021.