Free Republic

Miami Beach's annual Pride Parade celebrates the LGBTQ community's impact in South Florida, but attendees said that this year feels different with government policies they feel roll back some protections... Since Jan. 20, the Trump administration has rolled back DEI programs in the federal government and frozen grants. The president also signed an executive order declaring that the U.S. government will only recognize two genders: male and female. "We have had to go back into our federal contracts," said Daniel Molloy of Pridelines, an LGBTQ community center. "We've had to go back into our state contracts. And redact any mention...

SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Fla. – A Miami Beach woman was caught on surveillance video keying a man’s car in Sunny Isles Beach after a dispute over a parking space, authorities confirmed in an arrest report Wednesday. Sunny Isles Beach police said Damaras Iracema Rivera, 20, was arrested and faces one count of criminal mischief after police reviewed surveillance footage from the parking lot of Newport Fishing Pier Park, located at 16501 Collins Ave. According to an arrest report, the victim, a 36-year-old man, told officers he parked his red Mini Cooper at the lot around 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 14...

MIAMI — A man is facing charges following accusations that he opened fire on a vehicle in Miami Beach Saturday night after he saw two men in it who he thought were Palestinians, arrest documents said. Mordechai Brafman, 27, was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder for the shooting. Around 9:30 p.m., surveillance video captured Brafman's truck traveling south on Pine Tree Drive and making a U-turn at 48th Street, where the victims' vehicle was stopped just north of 48th in the left lane. At that point, Brafman drove by and stopped directly in front of them...

A 19-year-old man was arrested Monday after he was captured on surveillance video beating up an OB-GYN doctor at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, authorities said. According to authorities, Ventura Del Castillo Perez’s mother was a patient of Dr. Steven Silvers, and he was apparently upset because of the medication Silvers prescribed his mother. According to his arrest report, when police arrived to the hospital Monday morning, they located Del Castillo Perez, who was crying and struggling to catch his breath. “Defendant stated he was upset about what Doctor Silvers had prescribed his mother and wanted to advise...

The C.I.A.’s concerns were not unwarranted. In 2019, the Russians undertook an elaborate operation to find Mr. Poteyev, forcing a scientist from Oaxaca, Mexico, to help. The scientist, Hector Alejandro Cabrera Fuentes, was an unlikely spy. He studied microbiology in Kazan, Russia, and later earned a doctorate in the subject from the University of Giessen in Germany. He was a source of pride for his family, with a history of charitable work and no criminal past. But the Russians used Mr. Fuentes’s partner as leverage. He had two wives: a Russian living in Germany and another in Mexico. In 2019,...

A year-old case in Miami Beach, Florida, has resurfaced with the recent release of intense police body camera footage. The video captured the fatal shooting of an escaped convict, Darien Young, by an officer as Young held a girl and a store employee hostage at knifepoint inside a Victoria’s Secret store. The incident unfolded on July 27, 2023, at the Lincoln Road store. Young, 29, had previously escaped from the New Hampshire Department of Corrections, where he was serving time as a minimum-security resident. In the released footage, officers are seen arriving as Young had the girl and employee in...

"Expect curfews, security searches and bag checks at beach access points, early beach entrance closures, DUI checkpoints, bumper-to-bumper traffic, road closures and arrests for drug possession and violence." More at link. Miami Beach is Breaking Up With Spring Break

Hoping they will "move to another city," new commissioner David Suarez says removing dock will force live-aboards to break the law to get food and water In one of their first acts, Miami Beach's newly constituted mayor and commissioners ordered the removal of a dock that dozens of people living on boats in Biscayne Bay have relied for years as a lifeline to the mainland. The unanimous vote to cut off their easy access to food and water is part of newly elected commissioner David Suarez's effort to force the so-called "live-aboards" out of the waters off Miami Beach. "They...

Miami Beach residents elected a Republican mayor in Tuesday’s runoff election after Steven Meiner won the race by an eight point margin. Republican Miami Beach Commissioner Steven Meiner faced off against Democrat Michael Góngora in Tuesday’s runoff race. He won the hearts of Miami Beach residents after largely channeling a Trump-esque law and order platform, putting an emphasis on “protecting our residents, reducing crime,” and wanting “a safer city.” “Reducing crime, a safer city, mitigating traffic, responsible development, not overdevelopment, resiliency issues that we need to address,” Meiner said, according to NBC Miami. “I just kept talking about it and...

The mayor of Miami Beach wants to cancel Spring Break as footage emerged of the moment a man was shot dead on a sidewalk during another wild weekend of partying. 'We haven’t asked for spring break in our city. We don’t want spring break in our city. It’s too rowdy, brings too much disorder and is simply too difficult to police,' said Democratic mayor Dan Gelber. The chaotic weekend saw two men shot dead and partygoers jumping on a car, brawling in streets and even trashing a slushie shop on the main drag despite the city instituting a curfew on...

Authorities in Miami Beach, Fla., have said they no longer want spring breakers to visit the city after two fatal shootings involving partygoers over the weekend. Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber imposed a curfew in the city Sunday night and said his administration would consider extending restrictions for the coming weekend.

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – A fight over fishing led to shots being fired at the Haulover Beach marina. The victims of the shooting weren’t physically injured but they say they are now emotionally scarred. “He was walking on the grass, he ordered two of my friends on the boat and he just started firing off rounds,” said one of the victims, who asked not to be identified. “This is insane, it’s a crazy world we live in.” Evidence of bullet after bullet at the scene tells the story. It all happened Sunday evening. You don’t hear about a story like...

After several days of problems, the city of Miami Beach said it was declaring a state of emergency and implementing a curfew starting Thursday morning at 12:01 a.m. to deal with rowdy spring breakers. “We didn’t ask for spring break and we don’t want it," Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said Monday. According to Miami's ABC station, WPLG, "five people were injured during two shootings on Ocean Drive" as spring breakers socialized nearby on Sunday. A video posted on social media shows a police motorcade driving slowly down the crowded street when four shots rang out. That sent dozens of...

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has ditched the Big Apple for sunny south Florida, prompting supporters of the state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, to hope she was “enjoying a taste of freedom.” The far-left “Squad” member was pictured hoisting a cocktail and checking her phone ​with an unknown companion ​at a table outside of ​the ​Doraku Izakaya and Sushi​ restaurant in Miami Beach, according to images obtained by National Review and published late Thursday. Ocasio-Cortez’s winter getaway comes as New York City is experiencing record-high numbers of COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant, with officials reporting more than 40,000 new...

A Florida man is facing a second-degree murder charge after police say he fatally stabbed a coworker who refused to date him. Delfina Pan, 28, worked at a Miami Beach restaurant with the suspect, 20-year-old Agustin Lucas Mariani. According to a police report obtained by NBC Miami, Mariani made several attempts to begin a relationship with Pan. She rebuffed his attempts. According to the police report, Pan left the restaurant on Nov. 29. The report alleges that a short time later, Mariani left the restaurant in the middle of his shift and showed up at Pan's apartment. When she refused...

On Monday, several residents at Maison Grande Condominium, an 18-story building with 502 units, said they are worried about the safety of the 1971 building at 6039 Collins Ave., in Miami Beach. They have photographs showing corroded steel and concrete spalling. Records show there have been five inspections that determined the building is an “unsafe structure.” The building envelope is among the list of concerns. There were also warnings that the two-story parking garage and pool deck “have reached the end of their useful life and require repair, replacement,” or “a combination thereof.”

I sense an attitude of friendliness, and camaraderie with strangers rather than fear of them. Normality is alive and well in Florida, as much as corporate media don’t want to admit it.If your perception of the world is based on what corporate media tells you, you might think Florida is overrun by wild spring break revelers who are running around killing people by flaunting COVID precautions. “How spring break in South Beach spun out of control,” the Washington Post blared. The Associated Press reported “deaths” and “violence,” while “police have arrested hundreds of partiers involved in violence and property destruction”...

The national media will tell you #MiamiBeach issued a state of emergency and shut down because of the crowds and some will lie and say it's because of Covid. That's only half the story. Here are some videos of what is really going on.

President Donald Trump is coming back to social media with his: "own platform" in two to three months. A platform that will: "completely redefine the game" Those words from Trump advisor Jason Miller... A top British official says that masks-muzzles and social distancing could last for several years... Protesters on the streets in Vienna, Austria today opposing the government and coronavirus lockdowns... In Israel a doctor on a vaccination committee resigning. Eran Dolev citing the lack of informed consent for pregnant women being vaccinated... The vaccine stats for the US today... Pepper balls unleashed by police on spring break crowds...

Welcome to the weekend and here we are. I am your currently sober drunk host. Day 369 Of The Dictatorship Of CPVID-19, Day 369 Of America And The World Held Hostage To Vaxx Or Not To Vaxx That Is The Question? President Trump endorsing vaccination against COVID-19 this week. Bue he kept a secret until the end of last month. Trump himself was vaccinated at the White House at the beginning of January but we only learned about it when the CPAC speech happened February 28th. One can point out that Mr. Trump needed anti-vaxx support for his political agenda...