Free Republic

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will meet this week with high-dollar Republicans to try to cement their support for the newest political action committee supporting his presidential bid, his campaign manager, James Uthmeier, wrote in a memo on Monday morning. Back Down, the super PAC which has bankrolled much of DeSantis' sprawling ground work in early voting states like Iowa and has hosted the governor for dozens of events there. In a fraught moment earlier this month that was first reported by NBC News, two board members from Never Back Down nearly got into a physical fight during a private meeting...

Trans activists have stormed the Florida capitol building, demanding rights for trans-identified people. One of the members there led the group, chanting: "Whose schools? Our schools!" The protest comes just days after a trans-identified person killed three 9-year-old children and three staff members in Nashville. Instead of mourning the loss of innocent children and school staff members, it appears that those within the trans community have used the horrific incident to push their political ideas by forcing their way into capitol buildings across the country. Oli London posted to Twitter: "Another Insurrection by Trans Activists today in Florida. Activists stormed...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - The former principal for a Tallahassee charter school resigned after what she called a “series of miscommunications” regarding a 6th grade art class lesson that included an image of Michelanglo’s ‘David.’ The situation drew several complaints from parents, and has launched debate over the school’s policies. Tallahassee Classical School confirmed to WCTV the art lesson took place last Friday, and several parents reached out to express concerns that same day. Board Chair Barney Bishop confirmed that as part of an emergency meeting on Monday, a few days after the lesson, former principal Hope Carrasquilla was given...

TAMPA, Fla. (WWSB) - A Hillsborough County building inspector was seriously injured when he tried to stop a woman from stealing his truck, authorities said. The Hillsborough County Sheriff Office says the inspector left his county truck running Dec. 27 as he inspected a new home. Deputies say McKenya Thomas, 22, jumped into the truck to steal it. The inspector also entered the vehicle to prevent the theft, but was thrown from the truck as she sped off. The inspector suffered life-threatening injuries, but is now at Tampa General Hospital and is expected to recover. Later that day, Thomas, still...

Publix customers can now enjoy a pint of beer or a glass of wine while grocery shopping at select stores in Florida. Customers can order freshly brewed coffee, a glass of wine, or beer and sip while they shop. According to Publix’s website, customers “can enjoy a glass at our bar or take it with you while you shop. And whether it’s happy hour, Sunday fun day, or anytime, you can enjoy a drink at Pours.” Pours debuted at the Publix GreenWise Market in Tallahassee in 2018. Since then, the supermarket chain has expanded Publix Pours to select Publix GreenWise...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A Florida man has pleaded guilty to defrauding more than 30 women of more than $1.3 million by pretending to be a doctor on online dating services, a U.S. attorney said Thursday. Brian Brainard Wedgeworth, 46, who formerly lived in the Florida capital city of Tallahassee and in Center Point, Alabama, used 10 different aliases as part of the scheme, U.S. Attorney Jason Cody said in a news release. "Our citizens should not be preyed upon by fraudsters who steal through overtures of affection," Cody said.

German security authorities have claimed that members of the far-left Antifa movement are preparing attacks on police officers and political opponents, including potential assassinations. The Antifa movement in Germany and its 50 supporting groups across the country are becoming increasingly more violent, according to a report from the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution seen by Focus magazine. They are also believed to be plotting targetted attacks.

Antifa supporter Daniel Alan Baker was arrested for plotting to murder Trump supporters and police on Inauguration Day. He trained in Syria in 2017 with the YPG, was featured on VICE, and in 2020 participated in the CHAZ insurrection in Seattle, per DOJ documents. Jack Posobiec broke the story Friday. see links Daniel Alan Baker wanted to stockpile AK-47s and build bombs in CHAZ district in Seattle to start “the revolution.” Baker posted links to CNN on his “Call to Arms” to kill Trump supporters and police officers on Inauguration Day.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (7News) — Terry Robinson from Tallahassee rented a car to visit friends in D.C. He said after hanging out until about 1 a.m., he parked his car in a lot outside his friend’s building. 7News met him Thursday morning as A-1 towing was about to remove his car that fit the profile: Toyota or Honda, all four wheels were gone, the car held up by yellow soda crates and lug nuts all over the pavement. Also, no arrests were made. “I’m from Florida,” Robinson told 7News, “I come to visit and this is what happened.” He said the...

She has a new Om. Convicted madam Ghislaine Maxwell has been moved 1,000 miles to a soft, low-security prison in Florida — one where inmates enjoy movies, a running track and even yoga in the yard. The disgraced socialite, who complained to the UN about human rights abuses during her two years in custody in Brooklyn, was expected to serve her time in the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Danbury, Connecticut — the prison that inspired “Orange Is the New Black.” However, official Federal Bureau of Prisons records show that by Monday morning, the 60-year-old madam is instead in FCI...

For the crime of trying to protect young children from sexually explicit material in the classroom, Florida legislators are being crucified by the media. The Florida House recently passed the parental rights bill known as HB 1557, and it has cleared a final committee in the state Senate. Senators now have until March 11 to pass the legislation and put it on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk. The media has wildly distorted the intent of the bill. Yes, I know, what’s new? But the sheer level of message discipline by a broad swath of media outlets to promote the message of...

<p>Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday vowed not to sign a new congressional map unless lawmakers dismantle a North Florida district represented by a Black Democrat, setting up a showdown with his own party that threatens to upend the state's delicate redistricting process.</p>

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is waging a battle with various county school boards over a law that empowers parents to decide whether their children should be masked up at school. One of those boards is in Palm Beach County, one of the most heavily Democratic strongholds in the state. And one of the main cheerleaders for mandatory masking is board member Alexandria Ayala. Except, of course, when she’s the one who may have to wear a mask. Over the weekend, the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County held its black-tie annual gala at the upscale Breakers resort, and Ayala...

A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked Gov. Ron DeSantis and three Florida sheriffs from enforcing a key portion of the state’s so-called anti-riot law, in part, because it “encourages arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement.” The definition of what constitutes a riot under a new state law pushed by the governor is too vague “to the point of unconstitutionality,” U.S. District Judge Mark Walker of Tallahassee wrote in his preliminary injunction order....

Tallahassee, FL — Before he was arrested, FBI Supervisory Special Agent David Harris, 51, was tasked with investigating crimes against children, including child sexual abuse material, otherwise known as child pornography. Now, many are wondering if he possibly sought out this position of power to further exploit children, as he was charged with multiple crimes against children, including indecency with a child, crimes against nature and sexual battery. Davis, who lived in Prairieville, Louisiana, was arrested over the summer on sexual assault and other charges relating to a number of victims dating as far back as 2016. Now, he has...

TALLAHASSEE, FL—In a controversial move sure to cause outrage, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill declaring that the sky is blue. “Through sheer malice, bigotry, and hatred, I declare the sky is blue!” said DeSantis at the signing ceremony. “Maybe next I’ll declare grass to be green, enforcing myopic reality on everyone! Mwuh ha ha ha!” DeSantis then signed the bill with ink he declared to be black no matter what anyone else thought about it. “Nooooo! Colors exist on a spectrum!” screamed an activist outside. “Who is to say the sky isn’t yellow? I guess, maybe, some sort...

A pair of technology trade groups are pushing back against Governor Ron DeSantis after he signed a measure (SB 7072) on Monday that aims to block companies like Facebook and Twitter from censoring politicians from their platforms. A top priority for DeSantis during the 2021 Legislative Session, the new law gives the Florida Elections Commission the power to fine media companies up to $250,000 a day for “de-platforming” any candidate for statewide office and $25,000 per day for de-platforming candidates for non-statewide offices. The lawsuit alleges that the new law violates the Constitution, noting that it infringes on the First...

The state’s plan to build three massive toll roads through rural swaths of Florida were scrapped Tuesday, when the House of Representatives cast the last vote needed to repeal the controversial projects and send the legislation to the governor for final review. But the repeal isn’t exactly a total repeal: The legislation still authorizes new toll roads and highways, including expansion and “road upgrades” along 130 miles of scenic U.S. 19 between Citrus County and I-10 in north Florida, which could impact sensitive parts of Florida. It’s now in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ hands, following the Legislature’s action on 330 miles...

Federal law enforcement agents have arrested a Florida Man and charged him with trying to organize an armed response to pro-President Donald Trump protesters expected at the state Capitol on Sunday. The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the FBI arrested Daniel Baker of Tallahassee on Friday. Authorities say Baker issued a “call to arms” on social media to recruit people in a plot to create an armed circle around protesters and trap them in the Capitol complex “using firearms.” “Extremists intent on violence from either end of the political and social spectrums must be stopped, and they will be stopped,”...

Federal agents arrested a self-admitted anarchist and “hardcore leftist” on Friday on suspicion of plotting to violently disrupt planned election-related protests at the Florida state Capitol. Prosecutors said they “averted a crisis” at the Capitol by arresting 33-year-old Daniel Baker, taking him into custody on a charge involving making a threat to kidnap or injure, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida announced in a news release. “Baker issued a call to arms for like-minded individuals to violently confront protestors gathered at the Florida Capitol this Sunday,” prosecutors said. “He specifically called for others to join him...