Free Republic

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has unveiled a legislative proposal to severely cut and eventually eliminate property taxes on primary residences in Florida, calling a special legislative session to address the issue. The move escalates a multi-year effort to reform the state’s tax structure, potentially positioning Florida as the first state in the nation to boast neither a personal income tax nor a property tax on primary, owner-occupied homes. “Today in Tampa, I outlined the Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes plan that will eliminate taxes on homesteads. Property tax revenue collected by local governments has nearly doubled in the...

The Florida Highway Patrol said the crash happened when a 87-year-old was driving a Tesla Model Y SUV while it was in autopilot.PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — An 87-year-old Florida man is dead after his Tesla, which was in autopilot mode, went off the road and into pond, according to the Florida Highway Patrol, WTSP reports. The Florida Highway Patrol said the Wesley Chapel man was driving a Tesla Model Y SUV around 8 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday on Overpass Road in Pasco County while it was in autopilot.At some point, the Tesla went off the road, hit an electrical box...

A thong-wearing, 79-year-old Florida man was arrested for allegedly “consistently” exposing himself and making lewd gestures around his apartment complex — and argued to police that it was his “right to walk around naked.” Tyrone James Causey was charged with five counts of indecent exposure at his Hollywood, Fla., apartment on May 22 after neighbors called police, saying they were “increasingly concerned and frustrated with his continued behavior,” Local 10 News reported. Causey wasted no time showing police what neighbors were talking about — answering the door wearing nothing but a “G-string thong” and claiming he had “a right to...

“Former Attorney General Pam Bondi has quietly undergone treatment for thyroid cancer. She was one of the first key members of the Trump administration to depart, having been let go in April. Bondi has been replaced on an interim basis by Todd Blanche. Axios reported the diagnosis having occurred shortly after she left the Department of Justice, citing an anonymous source. Katie Miller, the wife of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, wrote Tuesday night that Bondi is doing well.”

A tropical area of interest may develop in the western Caribbean or Gulf and track toward the waters along the eastern Gulf and the southern Atlantic coast of the United States from the final weekend of May into early June. Should a storm evolve, it could add to and extend existing rain in parts of the Southeast that will occur regardless during this week. "Rain will fall across parts of the south-central and southeastern United States this week regardless of whether tropical activity develops in the western Caribbean, southern Gulf or southwestern Atlantic," AccuWeather Expert Meteorologist Adam Douty said. "However,...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A mother was arrested for D.U.I. after driving 120 miles per hour on I-10 with her three-year-old in the back seat, says the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO). According to JSO, an officer pulled over the mother after seeing her drive 120 miles per hour on I-10. The officer enlisted the help of D.U.I. Officer Ernesto Valerio after he smelled marijuana in the car. An investigation determined that the mother was driving under the influence and found a lit marijuana joint and several empty bottles of alcohol after searching the car. Her three-year-old was in the backseat. In...

President Donald Trump offered a cryptic excuse Friday for missing his son Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding later this weekend, which comes amid bubbling international tensions. Trump confirmed he will not be attending his son’s wedding to Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson, citing “circumstances pertaining to Government” without providing details.

A popular graffiti artist was fatally struck by a Brightline train in Florida, local officials say. On May 13, Eric Alan Hirt, 47, was struck and killed at 12:26 a.m. local time while walking on the tracks in Biscayne Park, Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office (MDSO) Detective Joseph Peguero said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. Eric was hit by an oncoming Brightline train, the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office confirmed, according to The Miami Herald. The Brightline train is one of two high-speed trains in the U.S., traveling as fast as 125 miles per hour. The train began test runs in 2017....

n less than a week, the U.S. attorney in Miami supervising the probe of Obama-Biden era government weaponization secured indictments against Cuban communist dictator Raul Castro and an alleged money launderer for Venezuelan strongarm man Nicolas Maduro. But it was Jason Reding Quinones’ request for an indictment against one of his own former federal prosecutors for trying to steal a sealed, classified report from Jack Smith’s investigation of President Donald Trump that may have sent the loudest shockwaves through government. The charges against former Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen Mercedes Lineberger carry more than 20 years in prison, and put on...

Charges against former Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen Mercedes Lineberger carry more than 20 years in prison. Article Dig Deeper In less than a week, the U.S. attorney in Miami supervising the probe of Obama-Biden era government weaponization secured indictments against Cuban communist dictator Raul Castro and an alleged money launderer for Venezuelan strongarm man Nicolas Maduro. But it was Jason Reding Quinones’ indictment against one of his own former federal prosecutors for trying to steal a sealed, classified report from Jack Smith’s investigation of President Donald Trump that may have sent the loudest shockwaves through government. The charges against former...

Progressive nonprofits are having a rough time lately. In April, the Department of Justice alleged that the Southern Poverty Law Center secretly paid leaders of the Ku Klux Klan and Aryan Nations—not to dismantle these extremist groups, but, as prosecutors put it, to manufacture “the extremism it purports to oppose.” And a recent City Journal investigation by Ryan Thorpe and Christopher F. Rufo, based on a previous report from the Network Contagion Research Institute and the Intelligent Advocacy Network, as well as their congressional testimony, revealed that the California branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has received more than...

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The woman who made headlines earlier this year for allegedly urinating on Pensacola Airbnb furniture is back behind bars on a new, similar charge. Nicolette Keough, 31, was arrested Wednesday on a felony charge of property damage worth over $1,000. She appeared in court Thursday, where a judge issued her a $10,000 bond for the charge. However, she'll remain in Escambia County Jail, as her bond was revoked for violating bail conditions for a battery arrest in mid-March. WEAR News first reported about Keough in March after she was arrested on two counts of felony criminal mischief....

This video discusses the political controversy surrounding Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and her decision to run in Florida’s newly redrawn 20th Congressional District. Here is a summary of the key points: The Controversy: After being redrawn out of her original district, Wasserman Schultz opted to run in the 20th District, a seat historically held by Black lawmakers for over three decades (1:07 - 1:55). Backlash from the Community: The move has caused significant anger among local Black political leaders and activists, who feel that Wasserman Schultz is prioritizing her own political survival over Black representation (2:19 - 3:06). Critics, including...

Somewhere, Ron DeSantis has got to be sitting back, booted feet propped on his desk, laughing and smoking a cigar at what has been playing out in Florida's 20th Congressional District. As RedState readers will recall, at the governor's urging, the Sunshine State redrew its congressional map in late April just as the Supreme Court's ruling in Louisiana v. Callais was being handed down. Republicans hold 20 of Florida's 28 congressional seats. The new map, if it survives the current court challenges, could potentially net them another four seats in the upcoming midterm elections. One of the districts impacted was...

AwakenedOutlaw⚒️ repostedMike Davis@mrddmiaJustice is coming for lawfare Democrats.I've said it on over 5,000 media hits.I know it's slower than we'd like, but it's coming.A special grand jury is seated in Fort Pierce.Subpoenas are going out.Joe diGenova is on board.Jason Reding Quiñones has 15 people on his team and growing.Comey. Brennan. Clapper. Blinken. Sullivan. Jack Smith.What these lawfare Democrats did was republic-ending, unacceptable, and inexcusable.And they will be held accountable.So this never happens again.Thanks for having me, @JoeTalkShowMay 21, 2026.

Democratic Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced Friday morning that she is now seeking reelection in Florida’s 20th Congressional District. Currently representing Florida’s 25th Congressional District, Wasserman Schultz announced the move in a video statement posted to X with a poster of former President Barack Obama visible in the background. She stated in the social media post that she intends to “continue to use my seniority in Washington to make Broward a safer, less expensive place to live, raise a family, and retire.” “I’ve fought for the people of Broward County my whole adult life, and you’ve always been able...

Two men accused of killing an off-duty Florida firefighter for his Nike sneakers and iPhone boasted about the murder just moments after the heinous act, according to a witness who saw the gunman “smiling about it.” Torrey Holston, 26, and Jose Garcia Romero, 27, allegedly killed Coral Springs-Parkland firefighter Christopher Randazzo, 39, in front of a Lauderdale-by-the-Sea resort when he left his second job as a bartender at Aruba Beach Cafe around 1 a.m. on Oct. 19, 2019. Holston was heard saying, “I can’t believe I just caught a body,” witness Cheyenne Papach testified Tuesday. “And he was smiling about...

Florida homeowners have watched their property tax bills nearly double since 2019 – and they're still waiting for relief. DeSantis just showed up in Brevard County and dared his own party to stop him. He's calling a summer special session to gut Florida property taxes and get it on the November ballot – and he doesn't care who's in his way. The Governor Who Actually Means It For two years, Rick Scott, the House Speaker, and half the Republican establishment have told Floridians that eliminating property taxes sounds great but can't be done. DeSantis walked into a roundtable in Brevard...

This is one of those rare two-birds-one-stone situations. Crazy scene on our Florida 287(g) Highway Patrol / ICE operation. As we’re picking up one illegal another illegal crashes right next to us. The truth is most Americans can’t comprehend how many illegals are in our country. Thank God, ICE and America First states like Florida are fighting to fix it! There's a 90% chance this hombre was looking over trying to see if it was one of his amigos being pulled in by ICE. There is no information on exactly where they were performing this operation, but this website can...

There’s a new story circulating online. It all started with an X post from infamous race-baiting lawyer Ben Crump, the attorney who led the George Floyd charge. In his post, Crump claims that a historic Black cemetery in Palmetto, Florida, was vandalized, with graves damaged and “Trump” and “DeSantis” spray-painted across tombstones.Here’s the X post Crump published:Ben Crump:A historic Black cemetery in Palmetto, Florida, was vandalized, with graves damaged and “Trump” and “DeSantis” spray-painted across tombstones. Our ancestors deserve dignity in life and in death. Desecrating sacred burial grounds is hateful, painful, and unacceptable. We must protect Black history and...