Free Republic

Hernando County Democratic Party Chair Brian Stewart was arrested on a misdemeanor battery charge Saturday after an incident at a “No Kings” protest in Spring Hill. The arrest followed a confrontation between Stewart and a counter-protester at the demonstration held near Cortez Boulevard and Mariner Boulevard. Details of exactly what happened are disputed. A statement from the Hernando County Conservatives organization says Stewart shoved a disabled military veteran who had come to the event as a “MAGA supporter” and then struck him in the head with a megaphone. “This highlights the growing intolerance and dangerous radicalism within certain elements of...

A volunteer who participated in a training session at the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office was arrested for stealing sensitive computer equipment, authorities announced Sunday. John Panicci was taken into custody March 28 at his home following an investigation into the theft of an encrypted access key from a voter registration terminal at the elections office. The incident occurred during a volunteer training session on March 19 for the March 24 election. According to detectives, Panicci stole the encrypted access key during the training at the elections office located at 4301 Cherry Road. While the stolen key was...

HUGE SENTENCE IN FLORIDA: @AGJamesUthmeier announces 81 YEARS for Mario Crawford, who used drones to smuggle drugs, weapons & cell phones into state prisons Officials warn contraband is no longer just coming through the gates, it’s coming over the fences

A Florida fisherman changed his luck recently in a big way. Captain Jose Rodriguez Jr. of Cudjoe Key, Florida, takes clients out four to five times a week on a Florida Keys fishing charter to reel in trophy fish. But he’d never come close to catching a monster 500-pound swordfish. On Feb. 18, Rodriguez, along with a Pennsylvania family, landed a giant 480-pound swordfish, one of the largest of its kind caught in the Keys in recent years. “It was definitely a fight and a struggle,” Rodriguez, who helps run the family business, Above & Below Fishing Adventures, told Fox...

Paula White-Cain urged attendees of her 2026 Unleashed Conference last week to give a “sacrificial seed” in support of the ministry of her friend Eddie James. The pastor of City of Destiny Church in Apopka, Florida, urged people to give out of obedience to God, and she tied their giving to spiritual breakthroughs. “How many of you want to help me with Eddie James? How many of you want to be a blessing?” she asked. “Because I’m telling you, there’s an anointing of release right now. I want $100,000 to come in. I want $100,000. There are 10 people that...

FRAUD CRACKDOWN: House Ethics Committee rules that all but two of two-dozen+ allegations against Florida Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick have been proven with "clear and convincing evidence" Cherfilus-McCormick reportedly "stole millions in federal relief funds and funneled some of that to her congressional campaign"

Paula White-Cain urged attendees of her 2026 Unleashed Conference last week to give a “sacrificial seed” in support of the ministry of her friend Eddie James. The pastor of City of Destiny Church in Apopka, Florida, urged people to give out of obedience to God, and she tied their giving to spiritual breakthroughs. “How many of you want to help me with Eddie James? How many of you want to be a blessing?” she asked. “Because I’m telling you, there’s an anointing of release right now. I want $100,000 to come in. I want $100,000. There are 10 people that...

Car crash-prone Tiger Woods reportedly rolled his luxury SUV on Friday in yet another Florida roadway washout for the golf great. Woods’ condition after the Jupiter Island rollover crash wasn’t immediately clear, but a witness told TMZ that the golfer appeared to be fine. Photos from the two-vehicle crash shared by local outlet WPTV showed a Range Rover on its side along Beach Road. The fender fracas comes days after Woods, 50, made his golf return at the TGL Finals.

Golf superstar Tiger Woods was involved in a rollover car crash in Jupiter Island, Florida, on Friday, authorities said.

Florida Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick was slapped with a savage community note on X after a $109,000, 3-carat yellow diamond ring she’s accused of buying with ill-gotten FEMA funds was conspicuously edited out of a photo. Eagle-eyed X sleuths noticed the pricey, square-cut bauble was missing from a Christmas post from the South Florida Democrat, which bore her official congressional portrait — and a naked left ring finger. “This portrait of Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick has been altered to remove a ring off of her left hand that she bought using $109K of stolen FEMA funds,” the community note said. The three-term congresswoman,...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida committed numerous violations of House rules and ethics standards, the House Ethics Committee found Friday in a ruling that could add weight to Republicans’ potential push to expel her from Congress.After meeting into early Friday morning following a seven-hour hearing, the ethics panel of four Democrats and four Republicans found that Cherfilus-McCormick had committed 25 ethics violations, including breaking campaign finance laws. The panel said it would recommend a punishment in the coming weeks. The allegations center around Cherfilus-McCormick’s receipt of millions of dollars from her family’s health care business after...

A Democratic congresswoman is facing possible expulsion following a grueling seven-hour Ethics Committee hearing Thursday over allegations she diverted millions of dollars in emergency COVID-19 relief funds into her campaign. Republican Florida Rep. Greg Steube is prepared to offer a resolution to expel Democratic Florida Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick after her rare public Ethics Committee hearing in which the panel examined 27 counts of alleged House rules violations. The House panel began reviewing the allegations against the Democrat in September 2023 and the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted her on 15 federal charges in November, which could result in a 53-year...

A Democratic congresswoman accused of siphoning millions in federal disaster funds allegedly sought a presidential pardon from President Donald Trump at a White House Christmas party. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) was indicted in November on charges she stole $5 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Cherfilus-McCormick approached Trump last year seeking clemency, a source familiar with the exchange told The Hill, even as she publicly insisted she is the victim of persecution by his Justice Department. The allegations will be aired Thursday in the first public House Ethics Committee hearing. Cherfilus-McCormick has pleaded not guilty and criticised the...

Longing for a free homeland, hope for change and a deep love for Cuba drew thousands to the streets of Hialeah, where chants of “Libertad” echoed through the city during a “Cuba Libre” rally Tuesday evening. The gathering at Milander Field was part protest, part celebration — a vibrant echo of a Cuban fiesta. Hats reading “Make Cuba Great Again” and shirts proclaiming “Cubans from Morón” — a central Cuba town where protesters recently set fire to the Communist Party headquarters — or “Patria y Vida” dotted the crowd, while music, from Celia Cruz classics to reggaeton, pulsed through the...

A Democratic victory in a state special election in President Donald Trump’s backyard is the latest sign that Democrats are on track to take back the House of Representatives in November, according to CNN’s resident data guru. Donald Trump, Emily Gregory Democrat Emily Gregory beat Republican Jon Maples 51 percent to 49 percent to represent parts of West Palm Beach—including Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago estate—in the Florida state House.

Gov. Ron DeSantis joins 'Hang Out with Sean Hannity' to discuss the massive migration to Florida and why blue states like New York and California are facing declining populations. For many Americans, moving to Florida isn't just about the weather — it’s about escaping a "spendthrift" government that fritters away taxpayer dollars. Gov. Ron DeSantis told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that the state’s massive 1.4 million Republican voter registration lead is driven by results: a 50-year low crime rate, top rankings in education freedom and a refusal to "hunt" down residents for income tax. From police officers fleeing "demagoguing" mayors...

Democrat Emily Gregory won a Florida special election on Tuesday, flipping a state legislative district that is home to Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach estate that President Donald Trump counts as his residence. The president had endorsed Gregory’s rival, Jon Maples. In a social media post Monday, he urged voters to turn out, saying Maples was backed “by so many of my Palm Beach County friends.”

The race was being watched as a potential bellwether ahead of the November Midterms. Democrat Brian Nathan has pulled off a remarkable upset in the Special Election for Senate District 14, defeating Republican Josie Tomkow. With all precincts reporting, Nathan leads Tomkow by 408 votes, a half percentage point gap that puts the race narrowly outside automatic recount territory. Tomkow conceded defeat at her Ybor City Election Night party, telling supporters, “welcome to my General Election campaign announcement,” a nod to the fact that whoever lost on Tuesday would be back on the ballot again in November for the district’s...

So, who is Emily Gregory, and how did she win in Trump’s backyard? In a surprising result, Democrat Emily Gregory won a special election in Florida’s House District 87, flipping a seat long held by Republicans. The district notably includes Mar-a-Lago, the private residence of US President Donald Trump, making the victory symbolically significant in national politics. Running for public office for the first time, Gregory built her campaign around one central message: affordability. She addressed rising concerns among voters about housing costs, healthcare expenses, insurance premiums, and everyday necessities. Rather than making Trump the focal point of her campaign,...

Democrat Emily Gregory won the special election to represent a Florida state House district that includes President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home on Tuesday, according to Associated Press projections, a stunning upset that signals Democratic momentum ahead of the 2026 midterms. Gregory, a first-time candidate and fitness business owner, defeated Jon Maples, a Republican endorsed by Trump and aligned with his policies. Mike Caruso, the Republican who vacated the seat to become Palm Beach County clerk and comptroller, won the district by 19 percentage points in 2024. “Tonight’s result sends a clear message that people want Florida to move in a...