Free Republic

Officials intercepted millions of dollars worth of cocaine traveling to South Florida from Mexico during a traffic stop on Florida’s Turnpike, the governor’s office announced Wednesday. According to officials, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s West Palm Beach office alerted Florida Highway Patrol “to intelligence regarding a semi-truck suspected of transporting narcotics from the Mexican-Texas border into South Florida.” On Oct. 5, DEA and FHP officers stopped a vehicle going southbound on the Turnpike. “During the inspection, troopers discovered a concealed trap door containing multiple duffel bags filled with cocaine,” a news release from the office of Lt. Governor Jay Collins reads....

A childhood rape victim charged with filing a false report by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office when she was 12 has sued Sheriff Grady Judd and multiple employees. It was only after Taylor Cadle secretly took photos and videos of Henry Cadle, her great uncle and adoptive father, during a subsequent rape that the Sheriff’s Office arrested him. He is now serving a 17-year prison sentence.

"This is of massive historical significance," Anna Paulina Luna saidWASHINGTON, October 15. /TASS/. Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican member of the US House of Representatives from Florida, said a group of experts will begin examining Russia’s archives on the assassination of 35th US President John F. Kennedy (JFK) on Wednesday. "I have received a hard copy of the report on JFK’s assassination from the Ambassador of Russia. A team of experts is enroute to my office in the morning to begin translation and full review of documents. We will be uploading as soon as we can," she wrote on the...

Resignations Come After Sanctions on Israel-Focused Rapporteur: In the week prior to the commissioners’ resignation announcements, Secretary of State Marco Rubio imposed sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the UNHRC special rapporteur dedicated to scrutinizing Israel, for her role in supporting International Criminal Court (ICC) efforts targeting U.S. and Israeli citizens. The commission panelists met with top ICC staff in The Hague in 2022. In June 2024, the commission stated that it was “cooperating with accountability processes in the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.”

President Donald Trump's historic peace deal between Israel and Hamas was brokered in a Miami mansion 1,000 miles from the halls of power in Washington D.C. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner was in his $32.2million home on Miami's Indian Creek, often referred to as 'Billionaire Bunker,' when he learned Hamas was open to releasing Israeli hostages held captive since the October 7 attacks. After taking part in weeks of intense, high stakes negotiations with all the major players in the war - Kushner knew it was time to act.

Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Anne Marie Gennusa to the bench in 2023 and will appoint her replacement.An embattled 7th Circuit Putnam County judge facing possible discipline from the Florida Supreme Court for allegations she abused her authority has resigned her seat.On Oct. 3, Putnam County Judge Anne Marie Gennusa submitted her resignation, effective Oct. 31, to Gov. Ron DeSantis.Putnam County is part of the 7th Circuit which also includes Volusia, Flagler and St. Johns counties.The Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission found probable cause that Gennusa violated several judicial canons, including complying with the law; promoting confidence in the integrity and impartiality...

“The alleged pyromaniac accused of igniting the deadly Palisades Fire – Los Angeles’ most destructive wildfire – chipped in a tiny donation to Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, records show. Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, shelled out $2 to hybrid PAC ActBlue on two separate occasions just days apart in 2020 – $1 on Sept. 4 and another buck on Sept. 11, according to the Federal Election Commission. Records also show the alleged arsonist — born in France — was registered to vote in Florida, though he never declared a political party.”

Authorities in California charged a 29-year-old man with "malicious destruction' for allegedly starting a deadly fire that erupted into the most destructive blaze in Los Angeles history and destroyed much of the wealthy Pacific Palisades neighborhood, officials announced Wednesday. Federal law enforcement officials accused 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht of lighting a fire on New Year’s Day that was initially extinguished by fire crews, but continued to smolder underground before reigniting during high winds, acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said during a news conference. Rinderknecht was arrested Tuesday in Florida, where he moved after the fire, and is due to appear in...

BREAKING: President Trump ON THE SPOT orders Secretary Marco Rubio to designate Antifa as a FOREIGN terrorist organization "It's what I'd like to do. Everybody agree? Let's get it done. OK, Marco? We'll take care of it."

Authorities have arrested a 29-year-old Uber driver in connection to the investigation into the deadly January Palisades Fire. Jonathan Rinderknecht, of Melbourne, Florida, was arrested Tuesday near his home on suspicion of destruction of property by means of fire. If convicted as charged, Rinderknecht faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in federal prison. "He is charged with starting a fire on Jan. 1," Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said. "It did take a week to reignite, but he is charged with starting the Palisades Fire." The criminal complaint covers the damages and death...

We have learned that Gov. Ron DeSantis is calling on sheriffs across Florida to help with security at "Alligator Alcatraz," and local agencies are answering that call. WPTV chief investigator Jamie Ostroff has been on top of every development at the immigration detention facility located in the Everglades since it opened this summer. WATCH BELOW: Local deputies sent to 'Alligator Alcatraz' VIDEO AT LINK................ We learned that 10 Martin County sheriff's deputies and one commander left early Sunday morning for "Alligator Alcatraz". They're part of the sheriff's rapid response team — a group that responds to emergencies like hurricanes and...

🚨 BREAKING: Polk County Florida Sheriff Grady Judd goes BERSERK on Chicago PD for abandoning federal agents after a terror attack this weekend. 🔥 "Let me say this, for other law enforcement leaders across this state and nation: you need to be standing UP saying the SAME EXACT THING that I am. Because when you have a breakdown of the rule of law, when you allow anarchist criminals to take over the streets and attack law enforcement officers and then not send them help? That's a slippery slope, a REAL slippery slope." "Let me give you the antithesis of this....

Miami Beach’s iconic rainbow crosswalk on Ocean Drive was removed brick by brick Sunday morning — without any notice to the city — leaving residents and LGBTQ+ community members shocked and heartbroken.

The Hard Rock Casino Tejon, a partnership between the Tejon Indian Tribe and Florida-based Hard Rock international, is set to swing its doors open for the first time on Nov. 13, more than a month ahead of its original expected opening date.

A Florida truck driver has been charged in connection with a deadly crash that killed three people and injured five others in Ellington Township, Michigan, last week. The two-vehicle crash happened at around 9 p.m. on Sept. 26 on Deckerville Road near Hurds Corner Road. Authorities said Pavel Shchukin, 55, was driving a semi-truck on Hurds Corner Road when he failed to stop at a stop sign and collided with a Jeep traveling eastbound on Deckerville Road. Eight Cass City residents were in the Jeep at the time of the crash. Investigators said three people died at the scene, and...

PLANT CITY, Fla. - Martin Garcia, a longtime resident, husband and father from Plant City, has been deported to Mexico, leaving behind a devastated family, while raising questions among advocates about how immigration laws are being enforced. Garcia, who had lived and worked in the U.S. for decades, was detained by ICE last week while on his way to work. Just days later, he was flown back to Mexico, despite his family’s insistence that he had applied for asylum and held valid work documents. Now, his loved ones are searching for answers and hoping someday he may be able to...

Florida Congressman Jimmy Patronis (R) announced his cosponsorship of Florida Rep. Randy Fine’s (R) “No Shari’a Law Act”. The bill aims to restrict all aspects of Shari’a Law from influencing judges to rule based on the laws of the U.S. Constitution, rather than the laws of religion. “Proud to be an official co-sponsor of HR 5512- The No Shari’a Law Act by [Rep. Fine] a bill that reaffirms our commitment to upholding the U.S. Constitution and protecting American values.” Patronis shared on social media. Rep. Fine, a longtime critic of Islam in America, is headlining the No Shari’a Law Act....

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. That applies not only to Newtonian physics but also to markets, even in things like housing. Doral, Florida, is a suburb of Miami, peopled heavily with Venezuelan immigrants. Some of them are citizens, some are in the country legally, and some are not in the country legally. According to a piece in Monday's Wall Street Journal, some of these people are leaving Doral, in no small part due to President Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration, resulting in a spike in Doral's rental housing vacancy rate. That's a good thing. Here's...

Florida’s board of education signed off Wednedsay on a major expansion of charter schools in the state, clearing the way for the privately run schools to “co-locate” inside traditional public schools. It’s the latest push by Florida officials to expand school choice in a state that has long been a national model for conservative education policy. The move comes as some public schools are closing their doors as they grapple with declining enrollments, aging facilities and post-pandemic student struggles. The new regulations approved by the state board build on a bill signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis this...

A Florida man has been arrested in connection with a fire last week in a classroom at a Chabad in Florida, days before Rosh Hashanah. Blake Richard Hoover, 31, of Punta Gorda, was arrested by local police Monday and charged with arson and criminal mischief. Those charges were also enhanced with hate crime charges, according to the Punta Gorda Police Department. According to the criminal complaint, Hoover was identified after his mother, Kelly, saw reports of the blaze at the Chabad of Charlotte County in Punta Gorda, Florida, and thought that her son may be responsible. During the incident Friday...