Free Republic

The woman whose lifeless body was found clenched between a 14-foot alligator’s jaws was arrested just two months earlier for trespassing on county wetland property. Sabrina Peckham, 41, was identified by police Saturday as the victim being dragged by the beast in a canal along a residential street in Largo, a small community just four miles south of Clearwater. The homeless woman was caught by Pinellas County deputies around 6:30 a.m. on July 14 for trespassing onto county wetland just half a mile from where she was found dead Friday, court records show. Peckman ignored posted signage warning against unlaw...

A 13-foot alligator was killed by Florida officials after it was reportedly seen carrying human remains on Friday. The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said officers responded to an area near 134th Avenue North and 121st Street in Ridgecrest, Florida, on Friday after getting reports of a body in the waterway, according to FOX 13. With help of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the alligator was "humanely killed." Blood could be seen near the alligator. A witness told Spectrum Bay News 9 that he could see a body in the alligator's mouth.

A full federal appeals court declined to take up Democrat groups’ challenge of Florida’s 2021 election integrity law on Thursday, marking a major win for Gov. Ron DeSantis and the GOP-controlled state legislature. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Thursday’s decision by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals “let stand an April ruling by a three-judge panel of the [court] that sided with the state on major issues in the case.” The 11th Circuit’s April decision effectively overturned a prior ruling issued by U.S. District Judge Mark Walker — an Obama appointee — who baselessly claimed the law in question discriminated...

The PAC supporting Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2024 presidential bid will release an ad Friday in gas stations across Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. The political marketing will share his plan to try to bring gas prices down to $2.00 per gallon by 2025. [cut] “People are hurting,” DeSantis states in the new ad. “My vision is open up energy. Let’s get back to $2.00 a gallon for gas, that’s what the American people need. We will be energy dominant again in this country.”

Governor Ron DeSantis on Friday directed the Florida Department of Education to suspend four schools from the state’s school-choice scholarship program because of their alleged “direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party.” “Through a thorough investigation, FDOE has determined that Lower and Upper Sagemont Preparatory Schools in Weston, Parke House Academy in Winter Park, and Park Maitland School in Winter Park have direct ties to the CCP and their connections constitute an imminent threat to the health, safety, and welfare of these school’s students and the public,” the DeSantis administration said in a statement. The Florida DOE is working with...

Ron DeSantis’s struggles on the campaign trail have eroded his influence back home in Florida, and even once-close allies are revolting against his control. DeSantis was crowned early on as the natural successor to Donald Trump: A demagogic culture warrior, but younger and more disciplined—he was a figure who could appeal, in theory, both to MAGA diehards and Trump skeptics. When he launched his campaign, he was fresh off a series of victories at home. The Republican-controlled Florida state legislature had helped him pass multiple draconian measures limiting LGBTQ rights, educational freedom, and abortion access. While candidates backed by Trump...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has dropped to single digits in New Hampshire’s Republican primary race, the latest Insider Advantage survey found.The survey, which examined the sentiments of 850 likely Republican primary voters in the Granite State, found former President Donald Trump as the dominant frontrunner, having a 28-point lead, garnering 42 percent support.Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley came in second place with 14 percent, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie came in four points behind with ten percent support.In this particular survey, DeSantis — who has failed to make a dent in Trump’s lead nationally or in individual...

PALM BEACH, Florida — President Donald J. Trump reacted to News Corp mogul Rupert Murdoch standing down from his role as CEO today, in a wide ranging, exclusive interview with The National Pulse set to air early next week.Trump, who has recently been on the receiving end of Murdoch’s influence at Fox News, discussed the issue during a sit down interview at Mar-a-Lago, telling Editor-in-Chief Raheem Kassam, “I wish him luck,” before lauding the Fox hosts who he says have covered his campaign fairly, as well as using the opportunity to praise the late Roger Ailes.On Murdoch’s hostility towards him,...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is losing his clout in Florida. College boards, stacked with DeSantis appointees, are rejecting job candidates with ties to the governor. The chair of the Republican Party of Florida urged executive committee members to attend all GOP candidate events — giving cover to party faithful who want to attend a dinner at Mar-a-Lago with former President Donald Trump. And the board that oversees many of Florida’s affordable housing programs this month placed on leave its executive director, who was helped into the job by a top DeSantis adviser. Interviews with nearly two dozen...

The family of a six-year-old girl who was arrested, bound with zipties and perp walked for causing a tantrum at school is suing a Florida police department. Kaia Rolle, who was a first grader at Lucious and Emma Nixon Academy Charter School, begged the officer not to use handcuff to restrain her before putting her in a patrol SUV and driving her away in 2019. The ordeal went viral at the time - and shocked the nation, causing widespread outrage at the Orlando Police Department and the officers involved. The new lawsuit, filed against the city of Orlando and several...

A copy of a Resolution to remove Kevin McCarthy from his Speakership authored by Matt Gaetz back in September was reportedly found by a left-wing journalist in a restroom inside the Capitol. The Gateway Pundit reported that Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) slammed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy this morning for his “eight months of inaction” on Joe Biden and the Biden Crime Family. Gaetz further called on McCarthy to sign a subpoena for Hunter Biden’s records and testimony that he took the initiative to draft. This comes exactly one week after Gaetz threatened to remove Speaker McCarthy for being out of...

TALLAHASSEE — Arguing that the outcome of the case could represent a “blueprint for expanding gaming outside of Indian lands,” owners of two Florida pari-mutuels plan to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on whether a multibillion-dollar deal giving the Seminole Tribe control of sports betting throughout the state violates federal law. A Washington, D.C.-based appeals court last week refused to reconsider a ruling that found the 2021 agreement did not violate the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which regulates gambling on tribal lands. But a motion filed Friday by owners of Magic City Casino in Miami-Dade County...

pic Charges were dropped for 2 of the 3 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents caught on surveillance video stealing from passengers at Miami International Airport. In early July Josue Gonzalez, 20, Elizabeth Fuster, 22, and Labarrius Williams, 33 were arrested and charged for stealing money from passengers’ luggage at MIA. ......

The New Hampshire father of two who died after an incident at Gillette Stadium during the New England Patriots game Sunday had been punched in the face and knocked unconscious by a Miami Dolphins fan, according to a witness. Dale Mooney, 53, was treated at the scene by EMTs and rushed to a hospital after what had been described as an “apparent medical event,” but was pronounced dead shortly before midnight. A spectator has now claimed that he witnessed a physical altercation between Mooney and a Dolphins fan. “The Dolphins fan walks over and clearly punches him in the face,”...

A New England Patriots season ticket holder has been 'beaten to death' by a Miami Dolphins supporter at the Gillette Stadium, according to witnesses. Father-of-two Dale Mooney, 53, of Newmarket, New Hampshire, died following an incident in the 300-tier segment of the arena just before 11pm on Sunday. The Norfolk County DA's Office said cops responded to calls for medical aid in the section at 10.57pm and 'the matter remains under active investigation'. A photo from the Foxborough, Massachusetts stadium show EMTs scrambling to revive someone who is out of shot on the ground as worried fans watch on. Videos...

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A 78-year-old DeLeon Springs man is in jail without bond, accused of shooting and killing his neighbor during a dispute over trees. Edward Druzolowski is charged with second-degree murder in the death of 42-year-old Brian Ford. 911 calls released Monday reveal it was the suspect's wife who called for help. The Volusia County Sheriff's Office also released body cam video showing Druzolowski's arrest. “My husband had it in his hand. He meant to scare him, and he hit him. He was on our property,” she said. The victim’s mother tells a harrowing story. Her son was...

Carlos Campos came to Miami from Venezuela in 1979, before dictator Hugo Chávez’s socialist revolution brought about the unraveling of the oil-rich country. But it wasn’t until 2016 that Campos became actively engaged in US politics. Donald Trump’s “America First” message stirred something in him. Sitting down at a Cuban restaurant just minutes from the Trump National Doral golf resort — one of the former president’s major Miami-area properties aside from his Mar-a-Lago estate — Campos described how he came to the realization that his values aligned more closely with Republicans than Democrats. He attends Alpha & Omega, a Spanish-language...

Jenna Ellis, a former Trump lawyer turned hysterical anti-Trumper, referred to the 45th President as “malignant” during an unhinged rant involving establishment Republican Steve Deace, who bizarrely suggested America’s Founding Fathers have gone to hell.Deace, who wanted Trump to lose in 2016, now supports Ron DeSantis for the 2024 GOP nomination. The Florida Governor recently tweeted that he was “proud” to have received Deace’s endorsement. In the clip below, Deace can be heard insisting:“[W]e need to remember there are Founding Fathers who are in hell for all of eternity, who did some great work, but they didn’t bow the knee...

Former President Donald Trump has drawn outrage from pro-life conservatives after he panned a six-week abortion ban championed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as “terrible.” “I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake,” Trump, 77, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” when asked about the policy in an interview that aired Sunday. The 45th president’s remarks triggered backlash among anti-abortion activists, including from groups like Live Action and Students for Life,*** “Pathetic and shameful. Trump is actively attacking the very pro-life laws made possible by Roe’s overturning,” Lila Rose of Live Action said on X, formerly...

The idea that Rep. Matt Gaetz will run for Florida governor in 2026 has been the topic of several conversations in Tallahassee over the past few days, including during a reception Sunday night for the incoming speaker of the Florida House. Gaetz has long been considered on the shortlist of those who will try to seek the Republican nomination for governor, a field that is expected to be crowded because the incumbent, Ron DeSantis, will be facing term limits. DeSantis is currently running for president but would have two years remaining in the governor’s mansion if that run falls short....