What price freedom in Florida? Lawsuits test limits of the state's free speech crackdown
News and commentary for Floridians and other Americans concerned with the fate of our democracy. Today, check out these three articles from Florida Phoenix.
By J.C. Bruce
Cross the border into our fair peninsula, and you are greeted by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ welcome signs declaring you are entering the “Free” State of Florida.
But just how “free” are we these days?
Not so much if you happen to be one of the organizations that DeSantis has arranged to be labeled a terrorist organization. Or, for that matter, if you dare express your political views on social media that offend the MAGA crowd.
Two lawsuits will test whether the state has gone too far in its efforts to rein in political views that don’t fit with the anti-woke sentiments of the Republican-led government.
In one case, a Muslim civil rights group has filed suit in response to being designated a terrorist organization. In another, a school teacher is fighting to keep her job after posting on social media comments about the deceased right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
The following three articles are excerpted from reports you can read in full in the Florida Phoenix, a Tallahassee-based news service whose articles Tropic Press is proud to share with their permission:
DeSantis announces CAIR as a domestic terrorist group under new law
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he has received a recommendation to designate the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Muslim Brotherhood, and Antifa as domestic terrorist organizations.
The law (HB 1471) passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor in March, empowers the head of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to label organizations as domestic or foreign terrorist groups on evidence they meets specific criteria, including engagement in terrorist activity as defined by Florida law; is based in Florida; and poses an ongoing threat to the security of Florida or the United States.
The measure requires the head of the FDLE (now Mark Glass) to give written notice to the governor and the Cabinet of plans to declare the designation and gives the Cabinet seven days from the date of the receipt of written notice to approve or reject the designation.
This is not the first time DeSantis has attempted to designate CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as domestic terrorist organizations. He did so in December via an executive order that drew a legal challenge by CAIR Florida a week later. In March, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued a temporary injunction blocking that designation (the Muslim Brotherhood never responded to the designation).
The recommendations now go to the Cabinet for approval. The Cabinet includes Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, and Attorney General James Uthmeier — all Republicans. Together, the governor and Cabinet appointed Glass.
DeSantis personally appointed Ingoglia and Uthmeier to their positions.
Some Republicans outside the Legislature have expressed concerns …
“I think that when you give that much authority to an elected, or, in the case of this bill, sometimes non-elected officials, I think that’s very dangerous,” former Florida Panhandle state House Republican Joel Rudman said in March.
Civil rights group sues Florida officials for designating CAIR a terrorist organization
In response, CAIR has now filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging that “terrorist” designation as unconstitutional and is calling for an injunction to halt its enforcement.
The ACLU, the ACLU of Florida, and the Southern Poverty Law Center are among the legal groups acting as counsel for CAIR and CAIR Florida in the case, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida in Tallahassee.
Clay County teacher fired after Charlie Kirk post fights for professional survival
A Clay County public school teacher fired for social media posts about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk will get her day in administrative court in August.
Kelly Brock-Sanchez was an Exceptional Student Education teacher at Ridgeview Elementary in Orange Park when her career and life were upended following an intensely negative reaction to posts she placed on her private Facebook page under the pseudonym “Kelly Steele Magnolia” on Sept. 10, the day that Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University.
“This might not be the obituary we were hoping to wake up to, but this is a close second to me,” she initially wrote.
For that, the state has said her teaching license will be revoked.
Brock-Sanchez is just one of approximately 600 Americans who were punished in some fashion for making what were perceived to be derogatory remarks about Kirk in the immediate aftermath of his death, a Reuters investigation revealed in November.
Several other Florida instructors lost jobs last year after making remarks perceived as derogatory about Kirk after his death, and the state has been on a losing streak in these cases. All told, the state has opened “about 50” investigations into Florida teachers regarding their comments about Kirk, Jacksonville Today has reported. (The Florida Department of Education did not respond to a request for the exact number).
But momentum is shifting towards those fired by the state for their Kirk social media posts.
On June 17, Administrative Law Judge Jodi-Ann Livingstone told the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings that the Martin County School Board should rescind the suspension and termination of Matthew Theobald, a social studies teacher for the past 17 years, for three posts he made about Kirk on his mother’s Facebook page while he was off duty from his job. Among those comments, he called Kirk a “racist, misogynistic, fear-mongering, xenophobic new Nazi” — a remark he says he stands by.
There’s also the case of Brittney Brown, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologist fired after reposting on social media a statement critical of Kirk. In late May, she signed a $485,000 settlement of her lawsuit that covered backpay, damages, and attorney costs.
Brock-Sanchez’s federal lawsuit seeks a declaration that being punished for constitutionally protected core political speech and any inappropriate or controversial aspect of her social media post is “irrelevant” and protected by the First Amendment.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization. These excerpts are republished with their permission. You are encouraged to follow the links to the complete articles. To support Florida Phoenix, click here:
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It’s easy to feel overwhelmed if you are a rational person living in the Free State of Florida, but there are plenty of smart, reasonable people just like you here. The purpose of this newsletter and the Tropic Press website is to provide a source of news and commentary that shines a light through this irrational fog, both original reporting and contributions such as today’s articles from the Florida Phoenix.
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J.C. Bruce
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DeSantis should have stayed in the military, he believes in a rigid hierarchy and that a superior is ALWAYS right. Thank goodness his political career ends soon!
I’d like to add the KKK to the list of terrorist organizations. And I’d love an inventory of their weapons. Terrorists are well armed, unlike others the gov is targeting. And what about Proud Boys? They’ve proven they are terrorists!