Free Republic

Left-wing activists’ extreme narcissism always leads them to the same conclusion: You have no rights that they must respect. The latest example occurred Monday in Miami, Florida, where police arrested seven pro-Palestinian protesters for obstructing traffic, according to WSVN. That police response in Miami contrasted with the situation in some of America’s most liberal cities on Monday. In northern California, for instance, pro-Palestinian protesters shut down both San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and I-880 in nearby Oakland. That particular demonstration of pathological narcissism occurred as part of a coordinated, nationwide, pro-Palestinian protest timed to coincide with the April 15 deadline...

Red Lobster is reportedly considering filing for bankruptcy to relieve financial pressures that have weighed on the company. According to a report by Bloomberg citing people familiar with the discussions, Red Lobster is weighing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing to renegotiate burdensome leases and address other long-term contracts as well as rising labor costs. The outlet reported that the seafood restaurant chain is being advised by law firm King & Spalding on the subject, and that while discussions about restructuring are ongoing and that no final decisions have been made about a bankruptcy filing. By filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy,...

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed five new laws Wednesday to intensify penalties and strengthen enforcement against those who prey upon minors and participate in sex trafficking. According to the governor’s office, HB 1545 bars adults from “pattern(s) of communication” with minors involving “explicit and detailed verbal descriptions of sexual activity,” strengthens penalties for child porn possession, promoting underage sexual performances, and similar crimes, and making both categories of offenses third-degree felonies. HB 1131 creates an Online Sting Operations Grant Program within the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) that provides for annual funding of sting operations and the necessary...

A man died and another was questioned after an argument between a woman's ex-boyfriend and her friend ended in gunfire Wednesday in a Hialeah neighborhood. Hialeah Police officials said officers responded to a call of a shooting in the 4000 block of West 13th Lane around 6:40 a.m. and found a man dead at the scene. Police spokesperson Eddie Rodriguez said the man who died, identified as 26-year-old Christian Rueda, arrived at his ex's place and saw another man leaving the house. "This is an ex-boyfriend (Rueda) that she’s had problems with in the past, restraining orders, stalking," Rodriguez said....

<p>The Florida State Guard ought to be outfitted in brown shirts.</p><p>Ditch the military-style camos and other trappings of a well-supervised, highly trained, federally-authorized professional army that helps keep order in the aftermath of hurricanes and other natural disasters.</p><p>The Florida State Guard is more like a cosplay group of Y’all Qaeda commandos taking full advantage of the Florida taxpayer-provided hand-to-hand combat lessons.</p>

MELROSE, Fla. (WCJB) - A man from Gainesville was shot multiple times in the chest, through a Bible, in a Stand Your Ground shooting after sheriff’s deputies say he harmed his baby and attacked bystanders. Putnam County Sheriff’s Office officials say Jason Kaercher, 26, of Gainesville, began behaving erratically earlier this week. On Thursday, relatives took his 3-month-old baby to a home in Melrose off State Road 21 near the elementary school. Kaercher met with the family and a Department of Children and Families (DCF) case manager. Kaercher took his wife and baby outside to get some air and moments...

Two graduate students and a professor on Monday challenged the constitutionality of a 2023 state law that restricts employment of people from China and six other nations at Florida public universities and colleges. Attorneys for Florida International University doctoral students Zhipeng Yin and Zhen Guo and University of Florida professor Zhengfei Guan — all of whom are from China — filed a lawsuit in federal court in Miami. The challenge alleges, in part, that the law is unconstitutional because it is trumped by federal immigration laws. The lawsuit said that under the measure (SB 846), people “who are not United...

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday announced the deployment of more than 250 personnel to the southern coast of Florida ahead of an expected surge in illegal arrivals from Haiti. The Haitian government has largely collapsed and the nation is facing rampant gang warfare. Earlier this month, gangs stormed prisons and freed roughly 3,700 inmates, leading to a chaotic uptick in gang violence and the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry. The U.S. has urged its citizens to leave.

On February 21, 2024, the Florida Senate amended and passed HB 87. The bill allows people threatened by bears to use deadly force to protect themselves when they reasonably believe a bear is a danger to themselves, others, or their pets or is causing significant damage to their dwelling. The bill has already passed the House. The changes made in the Senate are not large. It seems likely the bill will end up on Governor DeSantis’ desk and be signed into law. Floridians had the authority to protect themselves and their property from bears until the Florida Fish & Wildlife...

In a dramatic turn of events, the South Florida Muslim Federation (SFMF), an umbrella group for South Florida’s radical Muslim outfits, has secured a new venue for its pro-Hamas conference, after being shut down by the Coral Springs Marriott for security concerns. The Sheraton Suites Fort Lauderdale at Cypress Creek – also a Marriott affiliate – has agreed to allow the group to use their premises to further the spread of hatred and incitement. The conference will feature many of the same extremists as the cancelled affair, including someone recently thrown off the Broward County School Board for promoting antisemitism....

On February 15, 2024, the Florida House passed CS/HB 87: Taking of Bears. The bill passed 88 to 29. It will now be sent to the Florida Senate. The bill has been prompted by a burgeoning black bear population in Florida, which has increased exponentially from 300 – 500 bears in 1974 to 2,650 in 2002 to an estimated 4,350 in 2016. No official population estimate has been made for eight years. The bear population increased 60% from 2002 to 2014/15. If the trend continues into 2024, the black bear population will be estimated at over 6,000. Cubs are not...

In the case of Colon v BATFE, United States District Judge Mary S. Scriven has granted an order for a preliminary injunction to prevent the BATFE, the Department of Justice, and others from enforcing the Final Rule against any Florida resident who has purchased or who may purchased in the future, any brace-equiped firearm before the resolution of the court case. From the order: Upon consideration of the foregoing, it is hereby ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction, (Dkt. 21), is GRANTED in PART and DENIED in PART. It is hereby ORDERED that Defendants Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms,...

Florida’s undercount in the 2020 census may have cost the state at least one, possibly two, seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and up to $21 billion in federal funding, according to a new report by Florida TaxWatch. The nonpartisan government watchdog group’s analysis found that an estimated 750,000 Floridians, or 3.48 percent of the state’s population, were not counted in the last census. This marked the state’s most significant census undercount in recent decades, despite efforts to improve participation rates between 2010 and 2020. “About 320 federal programs have census-derived federal funding. These programs affect nearly every aspect...

Connecticut has passed a law allowing bears to be shot if they are or are about to injure people or pets or enter a building occupied by people. Florida is considering a similar but broader measure.As black bear populations have increased across the United States, more people and bear conflicts are occurring. Before 1960, bears had been considered a problem to be taken care of. In most states, they could be shot as pests. There was a legacy understanding – bears make for bad neighbors. Bears would kill your pigs, destroy your apple orchards, and your bee hives. Before 1950,...

On September 14, 2022, at a postal facility in Tampa, Florida, Postal Inspector agents tried to apprehend Emmanuel Ayala, an employee of the postal service, for carrying a firearm on postal premises, which is against the law as per 18 U.S.C. § 930(a). Ayala had a valid Florida Concealed Carry Permit. He often carried a 9mm pistol in a fanny pack for self-defense.Ayala fled from postal inspector agents, so a resisting arrest charge was included. An indictment was filed more than a month later. A warrant was issued on October 27th, and Ayala was arrested on November 16, 2022. Counsel...

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis criticized former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump during a town hall event this week for declining to debate ahead of the New Hampshire primary. DeSantis made the remarks during the CNN town hall after finishing second in the Iowa caucuses this week behind former President Donald Trump, with Haley coming in third. Both DeSantis and Haley had heavily focused on the state, ad spending for both surpassing $30 million — pro-DeSantis spending reaching $35 million while pro-Haley spending reached $37 million, the most of any candidate. “The tradition here with first-in-the-nation is...

The legal challenge to the Florida Democratic Party’s (FDP) decision to list only President Joe Biden’s name on the party’s presidential primary ballot in March will go before a federal court next week. Florida law says that the names of unopposed candidates shall not appear on the ballot. That means that as of now, there will not be a Democratic presidential primary election in March in Florida. Judge Allen Winsor will hold a hearing on Jan. 10 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Division of Florida in Tallahassee on whether to issue a preliminary injunction to require Florida...

MASCOTTE, Fla. — A 16-year-old was shot and critically injured during a home invasion, Mascotte police say. Police say the teen who was shot may have tried to break into at least two homes. According to officials, Mascotte officers responded to an in-progress home invasion at Pine Needle Drive just after 6 a.m. on Dec. 28. There, they located a teenage male suspect who was shot by the homeowner. The suspect was treated by Lake County EMS before being transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center. Officials say he is listed in critical condition. According to officers, nobody in the home...

A panel at the Florida Chamber of Commerce’s Insurance Summit highlighted emerging issues in the state’s insurance industry due to the progression toward marijuana legalization. The panel largely focused on workers’ compensation and auto insurance, with concerns about the ambiguity in reimbursing medical marijuana under workers’ compensation and the impact of marijuana legalization on auto insurance risk assessments and premiums. A proposed constitutional amendment to legalize non-medical marijuana use for adults is gaining traction in Florida, with the state’s Supreme Court set to decide on its inclusion in the 2024 ballot, amidst broad public support.

A car owner who came across thieves who were trying to steal his catalytic converter exchanged gunfire with the suspects in a Miami-Dade neighborhood early Wednesday, police said. The incident unfolded shortly before 5 a.m. at a community in the 8100 block of Northwest 8th Street. Miami-Dade Police Det. Andre Martin said a resident was in his home when he heard power tools in the parking lot. The resident saw two people under his vehicle trying to remove the catalytic converter, so he armed himself and confronted the suspects, Martin said. “When I went out to walk my dog at...