Tag: florida

Watch Rachel Maddow LIE to Her Audience About the Florida Sheriff Who Warned Would-Be Rioters Ahead of ‘No Kings’ Protests

Ahead of the ‘No Kings’ protests by the left last weekend, a sheriff in Brevard County in Florida issued a stern warning to potential rioters that if they threw explosives at a law enforcement officer or pointed a gun at one of them, that they would be killed.

It was a harsh, but very fair and direct warning, and it worked. There were no riots in Florida during the protests.

On MSNBC, Rachel Maddow flat-out LIED to her audience this week, while talking about the sheriff. She said that he would kill people for protesting and then acted like she and the left were rubbing it in his face by protesting anyway.

It was a complete misrepresentation of the sheriff’s warning and Rachel knows this.

Transcript via NewsBusters:

RACHEL MADDOW: You might have seen headlines last week about the Brevard County, Florida, sheriff last week who called a press conference to threaten that he would sic dogs on people and his officers would not just put people in jail, they would put people in the hospital.

He literally got up at a press conference and said, “We will kill you”, talking about violence he expected at any anti-Trump protests in Brevard county, Florida. After that bizarre show of intimidation from that sheriff in Brevard County, Florida, turns out people in Brevard County, Florida were not at all intimidated by what he said.

As you can see from local headlines like this one, quote: “‘ No Kings’ anti-Trump protests draw thousands”, in Brevard County and Cocoa and Palm Bay. I mean, the sheriff gets out there and says, we will kill you and Brevard County, Florida is like, “You know what? We’ve got a right to protest. We have a right to make protest signs of any kind, including ones that show Donald Trump in a big wig made up like Marie Antoinette, saying, let them eat cake and you are not going to stop us from doing it. We are Americans, we have the right to do this, we will protest.”

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Florida Lawmakers Pass Bill To Revoke Medical Marijuana Cards From People With Drug Convictions, Sending It To DeSantis’s Desk

Lawmakers in Florida are sending legislation to the governor’s desk that would revoke state medical marijuana registrations of people convicted of certain drug crimes.

On Monday, both the House and Senate signed off on a compromise version of SB 2514, a broad bill that touches on cancer, dentistry and other health-related matters. It also contains a provision that would force the state Department of Health (DOH) to cancel registrations of medical marijuana patients and caregivers if they’re convicted or plead either guilty or no contest to criminal drug charges.

On Monday, both legislative chambers approved a compromise committee’s revised version of the bill and sent the measure to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

Language in the latest version is slightly different than what the Senate approved earlier this year. It says that a patient or caregiver would have their registration immediately suspended upon being charged with a state drug crime. The suspension would remain in place until the criminal case reaches a final disposition.

DOH officials would have authority to reinstate the registration, revoke it entirely or extend the suspension if needed.

Authorities would be required to revoke a person’s registration if the patient or caregiver “was convicted of, or pled guilty or nolo contendre to, regardless of adjudication, a violation [of state drug law] if such violation was for trafficking in, the sale, manufacture, or delivery of, or possession with intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver a controlled substance.”

The revised language appears to eliminate an earlier restriction that would have also revoked registrations for people who merely purchased illegal drugs, including more than 10 grams of marijuana for their own use. The new version focuses more specifically on production and distribution.

It also clarifies that patients and caregivers would have a process to request their registrations be reinstated. That would involve submitting a new application “accompanied by a notarized attestation by the applicant that he or she has completed all the terms of incarceration, probation, community control, or supervision related to the offense.”

It’s not clear from the plain language of the revised bill whether it would impact only future criminal cases involving medical marijuana patients and caregivers or whether DOH would need to review the records of existing program registrants and revoke registrations of an untold number of Floridians with past drug convictions.

Notably, lawmakers defeated several proposals to expand the medical cannabis program during this year’s regular legislation session—including by allowing home cultivation, adding new qualifying conditions, protecting employment and parental rights of patients and letting military veterans register for free.

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Florida TSA agent arrested for allegedly attacking 79-year-old passenger at airport

A Transportation Security Administration agent was arrested for allegedly assaulting a 79-year-old passenger at Fort Lauderdale’s airport, with police saying she was “forcefully pushing her,” a report said. 

Janiyah Wilson-Robinson, 21, of Margate, was taken into custody Wednesday following the incident at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, according to WPLG. 

The station, citing a Broward Sheriff’s Office arrest report, said Wilson-Robinson attacked the woman from Palm Beach Gardens by “forcefully pushing her,” causing her to fall to the ground and hit her forehead. 

The passenger, who was at the airport that day traveling on a JetBlue flight, suffered “minor bruising,” deputies reportedly added. 

It wasn’t clear what led to the alleged confrontation. 

The Broward Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond Saturday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

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‘That’s their fault’: Florida drivers have right to hit protesters if they fear for their safety, DeSantis says

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told drivers in his state that they would not be held responsible if they hit demonstrators during protests so long as it’s because they fear for their lives.

“If you are driving on one of those streets and a mob comes and surrounds your vehicle and threatens you, you have a right to flee for your safety,” DeSantis said on an episode of “The Rubin Report” podcast that was released Wednesday night. “And so if you drive off and you hit one of these people, that’s their fault for impinging on you.”

“You have a right to defend yourself in Florida,” the governor added.

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Protests referred to as “No Kings” are planned across the United States on Saturday, including several in Florida, where one sheriff declared protesters would be killed “graveyard dead” if they get violent or threaten law enforcement.

The most significant protests, which are mostly in opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests, have taken place in Los Angeles, California. The demonstrations, which have at times become violent, prompted President Donald Trump to call in the National Guard last week, an action to which California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, both Democrats, have expressed their fierce opposition.

The protests in the southern California city have caused road closures and traffic jams, which can constitute safety concerns. However, there have been numerous examples in recent years, including at the recent protests, of people using their vehicles to ram into crowds, causing injuries and even deaths.

DeSantis, like other Republican leaders, has been strongly opposed to heated protests, including those in 2020 following the death of George Floyd. His recent comments suggest his stance has not changed.

“You have no right to commandeer streets,” the governor, who unsuccessfully ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, said. “First of all, it’s just wrong; second of all, that has huge impacts on people’s quality of life.”

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Florida sheriff warns anti-ICE protesters ‘we will kill you’ if you so much as ‘throw a brick’

A Florida Sheriff delivered a stern warning to anyone planning protests against ICE or President Trump — threatening to respond to violence with deadly force.

“If you throw a brick, a firebomb, or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains because we will kill you, graveyard dead. We’re not going to play,” Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said Thursday.

“If you try to mob rule a car in Brevard County, gathering around it, refusing to let the driver leave in our county, you’re most likely going to get run over and dragged across the street,” the Republican sheriff said during the immigration news conference.

“If you spit on us, you’re going to the hospital, then jail. If you hit one of us, you’re going to the hospital, jail, and most likely get bitten by one of our big, beautiful dogs we have here,” Ivey warned.

The sheriff’s deadly declaration comes as a slew of anti-Trump and anti-ICE protests are expected to continue across the nation this weekend.

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Florida Sheriff Backs Down From Threat To Not Enforce Immigration Laws After Rebuke From AG

A Florida county sheriff who had refused to enforce immigration laws yielded after state Attorney General James Uthmeier warned he could be removed from office. The move from Uthmeier comes as sheriff’s departments in places like Los Angeles refuse to help federal immigration officials and even fail to shut down pro-illegal immigration riots.

Earlier this year, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Florida partnered its law enforcement with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Despite this, Broward County’s sheriff, Dr. Gregory Tony, initially made it clear he would not assist the federal government in its enforcement of immigration law.

In the letter sent on Monday, Uthmeier sought “clarity on several problematic remarks” that Tony made during a June 3 budget meeting. He noted how Tony claimed “arresting illegal immigrants is ‘not within [the] purview’” of his office. 

“I would hope your statements were mere political posturing, but if not, your expressed position would constitute a failure of your statutory obligation to utilize ‘best efforts to support the enforcement of federal immigration law,’” Uthmeier wrote. If Tony did not uphold the law he swore an oath to enforce, he could be removed from office, the letter stated.

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Disney Refuses To Say If Man Who Posted Photos Of Women In Park Bathroom Will Be Banned

Aman dressed as a woman paraded photos of himself in 10 women’s bathrooms in Florida’s Disney World in a Tuesday Instagram post. The photos posted showed him ranking the different bathrooms on a scale of one to 10 and included other women in the background of the photos.

The man, going by the name Lilly Contino, thanked Disney for allowing him to use the women’s bathrooms, saying in his post, “Shoutout to @disneyparks for creating a safe space in the hellscape that is Florida.”

Despite the concern on the post’s comment section and on X, Disney has not taken any action to keep Contino out of the parks. When The Federalist reached out to Disney for comment, they did not respond. 

Under Florida Statute title XLVI Chapter 810 section 145, “for the amusement, entertainment…” it is a felony for anyone who “intentionally uses or intentionally installs an imaging device to secretly view, broadcast, or record a person without that person’s knowledge and consent who is dressing, undressing, or privately exposing the body, at a place and time when that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy.” 

Although Contino did not seemingly take photos of any private parts, he did take photos for entertainment reasons with women using the restroom in the background who would reasonably expect some privacy at Disney World. 

This isn’t the first time Contino has shared what some people would deem as private information to the public. The 32-year-old man posts content on Instagram about being a “trans girl on a mission”. His mission includes educating viewers on his transition process like Facial Feminization Surgery (FFS), a surgery that alters a face through sawing down the jaw bone, cutting the scalp to move the hairline lower, shaving the bone above the eye socket, and shaving down the Adam’s apple. His mission also includes taking photos in women’s bathrooms.

Despite Disney having “gender-neutral restrooms” called “companion restrooms,” Contino went into the women’s restrooms. Contino also said in a post documenting the experience that he “peed standing up,” an obvious sign that he’s probably in the wrong restroom. 

He continued to post about his “trans girl mission” in a video of him being “misgendered” at a Disney restaurant. He told the server he didn’t want the food he ordered anymore because the server said “yes sir” to him. 

Despite the server’s apology, Contino said “I don’t feel safe anymore.”

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Dem Congresswoman Is Under Investigation Over Missing Funds

U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) is under investigation for allegedly violating several House rules, including allegations that she misused congressional funds for a for-profit entity.

Investigators with the Office of Congressional Ethics found “substantial reason to believe” the congresswoman she sought money for a community project and directed it to a private business. The findings were revealed after an investigation that has been ongoing for the better part of a year.

Investigators also found “probable cause” to further investigate allegations that she accepted campaign contributions linked to official actions. Cherfilus-McCormick has denied the allegations and said she has fully cooperated with the investigation in a statement to WPTV.

The Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC) is now calling for a full scale probe concerning the $5 million she obtained from Congress’ 2023 budget, which was supposed to be routed to the Figgers Foundation, a Florida telemedicine non-profit. Instead, the funds were routed to a for-profit entity.

The Democrat lawmaker is also facing additional allegations of misusing funds dating back to 2023.

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DeSantis Signs Gold Money Legislation Into Law

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed “transactional gold” legislation on Wednesday, aiming to help Floridians use precious metals in commerce and savings to protect their purchasing power from inflation.

The move can also protect the freedom and privacy of citizens if federal policymakers were to ever revisit Biden-era plans for tools such as a central bank digital currency, the governor said. Those federal proposals were among the key reasons this sort of state policy was pursued in the first place, he said.

The new law, passed unanimously by lawmakers in both chambers, aims to create a system that citizens can use to buy, store, sell, save, and transact with gold and silver.

It creates a framework for precious metals to become a part of everyday commerce, with backing and authorization from the state.

Eventually, the law will pave the way for consumers to use a debit card-style card or app to pay for everyday needs with precious metals held in a depository. Merchants, though, could choose to be paid in dollars if they prefer.

The metals are now considered “legal tender” under state law, too, making them exempt from state sales taxes.

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Trump Rightly Pardons 2 Florida Divers Who Became Federal Felons Because of an Honest Mistake

Here are some things you don’t do when you know you are committing a crime. You don’t do it in broad daylight in front of witnesses. You don’t enlist the help of those witnesses and invite them to record the event with their smartphones. You don’t report what happened to a law enforcement agency or leave evidence of the incident in plain view in a public place.

John Moore and Tanner Mansell, two Florida diving instructors, did all of those things on August 10, 2020, when they took Camryn Kuehl and her family on a snorkeling trip and came across a buoy-tethered fishing line that had caught 19 sharks. Moore and Mansell, who worked for a company that specializes in shark encounters, told the Kuehls the catch was “illegal.” Based on that assessment, they hauled in the line and freed the sharks, reported the incident to Florida Fish and Wildlife Officer Barry Partelow, and followed his instructions by leaving the fishing gear on the marina dock in Jupiter. But after it turned out that the shark catch had been authorized as part of a research project, both men were convicted of a federal felony, even though the evidence suggested they had made an honest mistake.

President Donald Trump reversed that injustice on Wednesday, when he granted pardons to Moore and Mansell. Unlike many of Trump’s clemency decisions, such as his pardons for violent Capitol rioters and corrupt public officials who abused their powers for personal gain, his intervention in this case epitomizes how “the benign prerogative of pardoning,” as Alexander Hamilton called it, should be used: to make “exceptions in favor of unfortunate guilt,” overriding “cruel” criminal penalties in circumstances that “plead for a mitigation of the rigor of the law.”

That certainly seems like an apt description of this case. Kuehl, who documented the shark release with photos that she posted on social media, testified that she “thought we were doing a great thing.” That was the impression she got from Moore and Mansell, whose conduct suggests they were sincere in that belief. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Watts-FitzGerald nevertheless obtained an indictment that charged them with violating 18 USC 661, which applies to someone who “takes and carries away, with intent to steal or purloin, any personal property of another” within “the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.”

During their 2023 trial in the Southern District of Florida, Moore and Mansell asked Judge Donald Middlebrooks to instruct the jury that stealing property means wrongfully taking it “with intent to deprive the owner of the use or benefit permanently or temporarily and to convert it to one’s own use or the use of another.” After the prosecution objected to including a conversion element, Middlebrooks omitted it, although he did tell the jury that the defendants maintained they had “removed property without the bad purpose to disobey or disregard the law and therefore did not act with the intent to steal or purloin.”

The jurors, whose deliberations lasted longer than it took to present them with the evidence against Moore and Mansell, evidently were troubled by the facts of the case. They sent the judge several notes before telling him they were unable to reach a verdict. Middlebrooks then gave them an Allen charge, encouraging them to continue deliberating and saying they should be open to changing their positions, provided they could do so “without violating your individual judgment and conscience.”

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