Fogbow

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Several people who were arrested last week as part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ voter fraud crackdown were notified by official government entities they were eligible to vote, according to court documents and interviews.

The defendants told authorities they had no intention of committing voter fraud, according to affidavits, and in some cases were baffled by their arrests because counties had sent them voter registration cards and approved them to vote.

Attorney Larry S. Davis, who is representing one of the men arrested in Miami-Dade for free, said his client was arrested at 6 a.m. when a SWAT team banged on his door.

“He was in his underwear, and they would not let him get clothed before taking him to jail,” Davis said. “There were people in his backyard who were armed, and they used a helicopter. It disrupted the entire neighborhood very early in the morning.”

Davis would not identify which client he represented because the person is concerned they will lose their job over the arrest.

raison de arizona wrote: ↑Fri Aug 26, 2022 3:33 pm DeSantis is an evil SOB. I don't believe for one second that he or one of his minions wasn't behind this to hold them up as examples.

pipistrelle wrote: ↑Fri Aug 26, 2022 10:45 pm A SWAT team for alleged voter fraud? Why not send in missiles or tanks or something?

Slim Cognito wrote: ↑Sat Aug 27, 2022 12:35 pm Do these people get jury trials or is der Fuhrer sending them directly to the gulag? Cuz it seems being told by the county they could vote is a pretty good defense.

Ron DeSantis’ First Voter Fraud Bust Is Quickly Imploding
The governor’s own administration greenlighted the defendants’ voter registration applications. Now it has arrested them for voting.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made a spectacle out of the round of arrests made by his election police force earlier this month, jailing 20 people on charges of voter fraud and promising more prosecutions to come. At least one target was dragged to jail in his underwear by a SWAT team at 6 a.m. But it turns out that the individuals ensnared in DeSantis’ dragnet had no idea that they could not lawfully vote. The governor’s own appointees flubbed their legal duty to stop them from registering. And because of their sloppy errors, all 20 defendants may well be acquitted of crimes they did not intend to commit.

DeSantis’ misadventure traces back to Amendment 4, the ballot initiative that was supposed to restore voting rights to most people who had completed sentences for felony convictions. (Those convicted of murder and sex offenses were excluded.) Floridians overwhelmingly approved the constitutional amendment in 2018. Yet DeSantis and his fellow Republicans promptly sabotaged the amendment by enacting an unnavigable, incomprehensible system for individuals who wished to regain their right to vote. The state refused to establish a coherent process for people convicted of felonies to learn they are eligible to cast a ballot. Many Floridians with disqualifying convictions, including the defendants arrested this month, are therefore unaware that amendment 4 does not apply to them.

After Donald Trump pushed the lie of mass voter fraud in 2020, Florida Republicans created an investigative unit to uncover “election crimes.” It was obvious that this office would continue the work that GOP lawmakers began in the wake of Amendment 4: persecuting Floridians who made the honest mistake of voting despite a disqualifying conviction. That, of course, is exactly what happened. It appears that most if not all of the 20 men and women arrested by DeSantis’ election police did not realize they were not allowed to vote due to disqualifying convictions. They believed, in good faith, that they could exercise their civil rights.

But they did not reach this conclusion on their own. As Politico’s Matt Dixon has reported, these defendants were told by Florida officials that they were legally permitted to vote. And because they believed these officials, they now face up to five years in prison for the crime of voter fraud.

In affidavits and media interviews, defendants share the same tragic story: They filled out a voter registration card; their county election office approved it, telling them they could vote; they cast a ballot in 2020; and now they are charged with a felony offense. Because local election officials approved each registration, DeSantis’ spokespeople have sought to blame them for failing to uncover the disqualifying convictions. This accusation conveniently overlooks a crucial fact: Florida law tasks the state government with flagging felony convictions that bar a resident from registering to vote. It wasn’t local officials who dropped the ball. It was the DeSantis administration. (Update, 5:45 p.m.: The head of the election police, a DeSantis appointee, explicitly told local election supervisors that they were not at fault, contradicting the governor’s claims.)

Because local election officials approved each registration, DeSantis’ spokespeople have sought to blame them for failing to uncover the disqualifying convictions. This accusation conveniently overlooks a crucial fact: Florida law tasks the state government with flagging felony convictions that bar a resident from registering to vote. It wasn’t local officials who dropped the ball. It was the DeSantis administration. (Update, 5:45 p.m.: The head of the election police, a DeSantis appointee, explicitly told local election supervisors that they were not at fault, contradicting the governor’s claims.)

Greatgrey wrote: ↑Tue Aug 30, 2022 12:03 am Yeah this…


https://twitter.com/luvman33wife/status ... 6216619008

Gregg wrote: ↑Tue Sep 06, 2022 7:04 pm So, just curious, can the Dictator of Florida fire here now?

SECTION 7. Suspensions; filling office during suspensions.—
(a) By executive order stating the grounds and filed with the custodian of state records, the governor may suspend from office any state officer not subject to impeachment, any officer of the militia not in the active service of the United States, or any county officer, for malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, drunkenness, incompetence, permanent inability to perform official duties, or commission of a felony, and may fill the office by appointment for the period of suspension. The suspended officer may at any time before removal be reinstated by the governor.

Ron DeSantis @GovRonDeSantis wrote: $1,000 bonus checks are in the mail for Florida's first responders. These checks are a token of our appreciation for all they do to keep our communities safe and secure.

This makes two years in a row that we have delivered for our fire rescue and law enforcement communities.

Ron DeSantis sends two planes of illegal immigrants to Martha's Vineyard
Florida governor sends migrants to Martha's Vineyard as part of program 'to transport illegal immigrants to sanctuary destinations'

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis followed through on his promise to drop off illegal immigrants in progressive states, sending two planes full of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard on Wednesday.

A video provided to DeSantis’ office and shared with Fox News Digital shows the migrants deboarding the planes at Martha’s Vineyard Airport in Massachusetts, the office said.

"Yes, Florida can confirm the two planes with illegal immigrants that arrived in Martha’s Vineyard today were part of the state’s relocation program to transport illegal immigrants to sanctuary destinations," the governor’s communications director, Taryn Fenske, told Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital reported in April that Florida’s budget since-approved by the State Legislature included $12 million for the Florida Department of Transportation to remove illegal immigrants from the state and relocate them.

Gregg wrote: ↑Wed Sep 14, 2022 9:12 pm I am really sorry a bunch of Northern blue states can't start asking their homeless people if they'd like to go to Florida for the winter, where it won't be so cold. And then pack the busses up with them.