Free Republic

Gov. Ron DeSantis signs legislation hiking criminal penalties for retail thieves and "porch pirates" "We're not gonna put up with that [...] Your package is gonna be there, and if it's not, someone is gonna have hell to pay." "We will raise penalties [...] They are going to be deterred." "We are gonna hold people accountable."

Ron DeSantis has been going full force to win the title of 'BEST GOVERNOR IN THE NATION' since dropping out of the Presidential race and his latest should push him over the top in that fictional contest we just made up. :) He announced the signing of NEW laws in Florida that target child sexual abusers. We are positive the Left is going to try and spin this somehow like they did with 'Don't Say Gay' which had nothing to do with saying the word gay. We are not sure why the Left thinks putting down things that protect kids...

The 20-year-old passenger who jumped off a Royal Caribbean cruise last week after an argument with his dad has been identified as a former high school football player and avid hunter living in Florida. Levion Parker, of North Port, Florida, has been missing since he jumped overboard April 4 in front of his brother and father on the cruise to Cuba and the Bahamas’ Grand Inagua Island, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday. The release of his identity comes shortly after the Coast Guard called off its search for Parker. Social media posts show Parker often went on hunting...

Florida is taking a strong stand against retail theft and “porch piracy.” Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed into law a bill that would crack down on criminals participating in shoplifting rings and engaging in other types of property crime. While doing so, he took some shots at California and New York for going easy on those committing these offenses. Amid widespread retail theft occurring across the nation, state and local governments are grappling with putting a stop to these operations while others are simply responding with a shrug. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, DeSantis announced...

Former First Lady Melania Trump is helping the homosexual ‘conservative’ group Log Cabin Republicans kick off its ‘Road to Victory’ campaign at her and her husband’s Florida resort home on April 20. ... PALM BEACH, Florida (LifeSiteNews) — After an extended absence from public view, former First Lady Melania Trump is reportedly set to return to the campaign trail for her husband starting with a fundraiser for homosexual “conservative” group Log Cabin Republicans at her and husband Donald’s resort home of Mar-a-Lago. The news puts to rest unsubstantiated rumors that Mrs. Trump was distancing herself from the former president’s 2024...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis believes Democrats don't stand a chance in the Sunshine State going forward. This comes as reports indicate registered GOP voters now outpace Democrats by nearly 900,000. "You're talking about a million plus voter registration shift," DeSantis told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo, claiming older numbers indicated Republicans were behind their Democratic adversaries by nearly 300,000 registered voters in 2018. "Part of that, I think, is a response locally where people are more likely to switch from Democrat to Republican in Florida, nonparty to Republican than vice-versa. That's been an important component of it, but I do think...

Tesla has unveiled plans for a new world’s largest Supercharger station, with an impressive 200 stalls in Yeehaw Junction, Florida. It was just over a month ago that we learned that Tesla planned a new world’s largest Supercharger station – a new 164-stall station in California. Now, Tesla is already planning to beat that and by a significant margin. Tesla has now filed for a new mega Supercharger station in Florida with an astonishing 200 stalls: Yeehaw Junction is located along 3 highways connecting south and central Florida as well as the coast. It makes the site strategically located for...

Henrietta Hughes tugged at the nation's heartstrings when she stood Feb. 10, 2009, at a town hall gathering in Fort Myers, Fla., and told President Barack Obama about how she and her adult son, Corey, were homeless, living in a vehicle and in need of "our own kitchen and our own bathroom." Whatever happened to Henrietta Hughes?

By KIMBERLY LEONARD 04/06/2024 09:38 PM EDT HOLLYWOOD, Florida — Ron DeSantis is making nice with his most loyal donors and, at least over the weekend, ignored Donald Trump. During a retreat in South Florida for the governor’s donors that featured golf, cigars and spa time, and little mention of the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee, DeSantis thanked and wooed the people who most avidly supported his presidential run. Part of the weekend was also to brainstorm how he could keep Florida front and center in the conservative movement with more than 2 and a half years left as governor. Robert...

A Florida woman, 23, accused of pretending to be a 14-year-old to molest a teenage boy has been hit with more charges as victims continue to come forward. Alyssa Ann Zinger of Tampa, Florida, allegedly pretended to be a homeschooled 14-year-old girl to prey on middle schoolers and engage in sex acts with younger boys. The 23-year-old was arrested in November for engaging in more than 30 sexual acts with at least one student as young as 12 from Wilson Middle School. Zinger was taken into custody over claims she posed as a home-schooled teenager to contact the victim...

Teacher Eliva Espinoza, 46, was stabbed to death by her pre-med student son.. Police said Emmanuel Espinoza confessed he did it because she annoyed him .. A beloved Florida elementary school teacher was murdered by her pre-med student son because 'she got on his nerves,' police said. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said University of Florida pre-med student Emmanuel Espinoza, 21, was driving from Gainesville to Frostproof when he decided to kill his mother Saturday. Emmanuel was traveling to attend a family event and had asked his mother, 46-year-old Elvia Espinoza, if he could stay at her house for the...

Ron DeSantis isn’t committing to running for President again in 2028. At least not publicly. The Governor told Fox News Channel viewers that he didn’t “have any plans for the future” when asked about a future run by Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures. The comments are interesting in light of those being his first public remarks since a reported conclave with donors and supporters in South Florida,

A voter registration advantage of one million is “within reach” in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said, following reports that Republicans are nearing 900,000 more registered voters in the Sunshine State than Democrats. “Prior to 2021, FL never had more registered Republicans than Democrats,” DeSantis said. “Now, a million voter R registration advantage is within reach.” “Hillsborough (Tampa) is about to flip from D to R, which will mean every county in the Tampa Bay market has a R advantage in this previously ‘swing’ region of the state,” the governor continued, detailing the significance of this shift: Prior to 2021,...

Donald Trump has raised $50.5 million at a Florida fundraiser for his 2024 re-election campaign - the highest amount ever raised at a single event. Saturday's $250,000-a-ticket bash was held at the Palm Beach home of Trump supporter John Paulson, and slightly exceeded the $50m fundraising total organizers predicted. The enormous amount is almost double the $26 million Joe Biden's campaign recently raised at a New York City bash which boasted the added star-power of former Democrat presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. 'It's clearer than ever that we have the message, the operation, and the money to propel President...

PALM BEACH, Fla. (NewsNation) — With dueling events this weekend, some of the nation’s biggest GOP donors will have to choose between former President Donald Trump or former presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Trump is expected to attend a major joint fundraiser between his campaign and the RNC on Saturday. A campaign source confirmed to NewsNation that it will be hosted at a private residence in Palm Beach. Expectations are high for Trump to offset President Joe Biden’s recent $25 million fundraiser, with the Trump campaign anticipating an estimated $43 million fundraising haul Saturday. That’s an effort that could...

A man was taken to the Polk County jail and could be deported – again – to Mexico after he was pulled over for having illegal tint on his pickup truck, deputies said. Jose Alonso-Rodriguez, 37, was arrested on Tuesday for not having a valid driver's license, an arrest affidavit stated. On Tuesday afternoon, a Polk County deputy conducted a traffic stop on a Nissan Titan in the Eloise area of Winter Haven because the windows were "extremely dark," the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.

NBC News, or, as Greg Gutfeld aptly calls the mainstream media outlet, “Nothing But Crap,” recently outdid even itself in promulgating misleading information. A weekend report strongly implied that Florida is a veritable hellhole from which residents are fleeing at a remarkable rate. The outlet claimed that “a perfect storm of soaring insurance costs, a hostile political environment, worsening traffic, and extreme weather” had caused people to abandon the Sunshine State in droves.And they based that claim on interviews with “more than a dozen recent transplants and longtime residents who left the state in the past two years.” More than...

After being strung up on charges by President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ), a 71-year-old great-grandmother may be thrown in jail because she walked around the Capitol for a few minutes on Jan. 6, 2021.Rebecca Lavrenz was convicted on four counts Thursday after just three days of jury deliberation for entering the Capitol on J6. Lavrenz entered the building through an open door around 2:43 p.m., according to the official statement of facts.Lavrenz told The American Spectator‘s Jack Cashill that she “felt that if those doors [on the east side of the building] opened I was supposed to go...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday that will prohibit children younger than 14 from joining social media in the state. Those who are 14 or 15 will need a parent’s consent before they join a platform. The bill, HB3, also directs social media companies to delete the existing accounts of those who are under 14. Companies that fail to do so could be sued on behalf of the child who creates an account on the platform. The minor could be awarded up to $10,000 in damages, according to the bill. Companies found to be in violation of...

A South Florida pastor arrested for sexually assaulting an impaired teenage girl missed his arraignment and is now believed to have fled the state, authorities said Monday. Monte Chitty, 62, was arrested early last month and charged with sexual battery on a 15-year-old girl. He was booked into the Monroe County Detention Center but later released on a $75,000 bond. Chitty, who authorities say is the pastor at the First Baptist Church in Marathon, was expected back in court on Monday. However, he didn’t show up for his hearing and is now believed to be on the run. He was...