Tag Archives: Florida

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: A Florida high school raffled off guns and other weaponry through a month-long fundraising campaign that ended Wednesday. James Madison Preparatory High School in Madison, a charter school, raffled off fishing and hunting gear and firearms, including handguns and semi-automatic rifles, in a $100-per-ticket raffle that started May 2. In a video clip apparently from the …

Florida Politics reports: With a tagline saying, “protect Florida, defend freedom,” Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ office announced Tuesday that it opened an application portal for the Director of the State Guard, a civilian force that the Legislature resurrected this year at the Republican Governor’s behest. The Director will oversee the recruitment and training of 400 guard members and mobilize the force …

Mediaite reports: Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno called for a return to “old school” discipline following the weekend arrest of a 10-year-old in Florida for threatening a school shooting via text message. The mugshot of the 10-year-old was released and he was made to do a “perp walk” on camera in handcuffs, something Marceno said he has no regrets about. …

From the Lee County Sheriff’s Office: On Saturday, May 28, 2022, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office learned of a threatening text message sent by a fifth grade student at Patriot Elementary School in Cape Coral. The School Threat Enforcement Team was immediately notified and began analytical research. Due to the nature of the incident, the Youth Services Criminal Investigations Division …

From the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office: On Sunday, May 29, 2022, detectives received a tip, and through investigative means discovered that Corey Anderson, 18, posted images of himself with what appeared to be a handgun, a rifle, and a tactical style vest. The photo was distributed with the caption “Hey Siri, directions to the nearest school.” After further investigation, detectives …

Florida Today reports: Florida House Rep. Randy Fine Wednesday sparked controversy and widespread media coverage once again with a pair of social media posts that critics say amounted to threats against President Joe Biden. Fine denied he was seeking media attention with the comments. He also said that the posts were not intended as threats against the president — who …

Orlando’s NBC News affiliate reports: Florida Rep. Randy Fine sparked some concerned on Twitter Wednesday with a vaguely threatening message directed at President Joe Biden. “I have news for the embarrassment that claims to be our President — try to take our guns and you’ll learn why the Second Amendment was written in the first place,” he wrote. The tweet …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Florida’s new Secretary of State Cord Byrd said Tuesday voters should be confident in the state’s voting process, but he added there were “irregularities” in other states and refused to say whether President Joe Biden won the election in 2020. Asked about the presidential contest, Byrd repeatedly said that Biden was certified for the office by …

Florida Politics reports: Newly-installed Secretary of State Cord Byrd said Tuesday that one of his top priorities is to get a new “Office of Election Crimes and Security” up and running ahead of this year’s election. Byrd has only been on the job for a week. He made the comments while spending one of his first few days at the …

Florida Politics reports: Seminole County Republican Party Chair Ben Paris [photo], political consultant Eric Foglesong and former independent candidate Jestine Iannotti have been arrested and charged with multiple counts of election fraud related to the 2020 election in Senate District 9. Iannotti had run in the SD 9 election as an independent candidate in a contest that critics had alleged …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: A federal appeals court ruled Monday it is unconstitutional for Florida to prohibit social media companies from banning politicians, dealing a blow to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ push to combat what he declares to be online censorship. A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an injunction blocking key parts of Florida’s social media …

Former Florida governor and failed presidential candidate Jeb Bush hails DeSantis for Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People Of 2022” list. During the pandemic, most people stayed home, and those who didn’t probably moved to Florida. Despite relentless criticism, Governor Ron DeSantis kept schools open, ensured Florida’s economy remained open for business, and allowed individuals to determine their own risk …

Florida Politics reports: The digital spot begins with an announcer voice: “The corporate media’s been throwing curveballs all day long, but they can’t get anything past this batter.” Indeed, the DeSantis on display dispatches his media adversaries, launching zingers and dingers at corporate press ringers over a hard-rocking soundtrack loop. “It’s why people don’t trust people like you, because you …

Florida Politics reports: Democratic gubernatorial candidate and current U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist on Friday staked a strong pro-abortion rights stand, pledging an executive order banning state agencies from interfering with abortion access. The proposed order, which Crist said he would sign on his first day as Governor, would prohibit state agencies from doing anything to prevent abortions that would meet …

Florida Politics reports: U.S. Sen. Rick Scott returned to network television Sunday with an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” where he illustrated the difficulty Republicans have with Donald Trump‘s election narrative. Asked about the penchant for “relitigating” the 2020 presidential election by host Margaret Brennan, Scott acknowledged that it’s a live issue for many Republicans. Brennan asked Scott directly …

From the Justice Department: A federal district judge in Miami has sentenced each of three South Florida residents to 220 months in prison after a jury found them guilty of orchestrating an elaborate fraud scheme that cheated U.S. manufacturers of infant formula, eye-care products, and other FDA-regulated items out of more than $100 million. Between 2013 and 2018, Johnny Grobman, …

Politico reports: Florida’s Department of Education is explicitly aiming to keep critical race theory and “social justice” out of social studies textbooks that the state will ultimately adopt for its new teaching standards. The agency, in recent undated guidance, asked textbook publishers to avoid those topics on top of “culturally responsive teaching, social and emotional learning, and any other unsolicited …

Florida Politics reports: Florida recorded more than 55,000 new cases of COVID-19 in the week through Wednesday, the highest seven-day total seen since the winter 2022 surge was waning in early February. Florida’s latest case tally from the CDC, 55,390 over seven days through Wednesday, was a third higher than the week before. It tallied eight times as many cases …

Florida Politics reports: Sen. Rick Scott started running a second ad Thursday in which he touts his “11-point plan to rescue America” and blasts the President as unable to perform the duties of the job. The “Our Policies” ad will have a seven-figure spend behind it. “You know with Joe Biden as President, all Americans have one thing in common. …

The New York Daily News reports: Ron DeSantis’ press secretary Christina Pushaw was ridiculed on social media this week after tweeting a fake news story about a gay-owned, anti-gay dachshund. On Monday, the conservative spokeswoman shared on Twitter the screenshot of a story, which was supposedly written by Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz, titled “This dog is the new face …