TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody, the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service today announced the dismantling of a massive drug trafficking ring—arresting 35 suspects and seizing millions of dollars’ worth of drugs. These defendants made up one of the largest cocaine trafficking rings in Florida history, transporting drugs from Puerto Rico to sell in Florida. The defendants also trafficked illicit fentanyl and are responsible for violent crimes, including torture.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “This massive drug-trafficking organization moved millions of dollars’ worth of cocaine from Puerto Rico into the United States. They used torture to intimidate and maintain a stranglehold on the market, and supplied Central Florida with so much cocaine that the price of the illicit substance in that area actually dropped. I am proud of my Statewide Prosecutors for working with Florida and federal law enforcement to dismantle this dangerous drug-trafficking ring and ensure these suspects face justice.” Continue reading →

By TomL

I am going back many years where some people I knew help me understand the process of Immigration. The story starts where a family came to the Promise land, the United States of America!

You could get a job, work hard and live a life out of poverty. I won’t put a name on them because some are still alive. An Immigrant got a job on the Rail Road and later married his sweetheart and had five children. The father died in a Rail Road Car accident, where he was knocked off the top of a rail road car, laid in bed over night and passed away.

One of the daughters told the story. She was the second oldest and was not yet a teen. The mother was working any job she could to make money. Taking in washing, altering clothes, ironing clothes, scrubbing floors to feed the children. The daughter telling the story said  that “They were never were so poor as they were in America”. On the way home from school the children would walk the railroad track to pickup up coal that fell off the Railroad cars. Some of the local people did not like that, why because they were immigrants and poor, so they stopped them every day until they stopped walking the tracks home. Continue reading →

Dear Friends,

The 2023 Legislative Session will officially kick off this month, and we are excited to continue our work on behalf of Florida’s citizens. We say, “Continue,” because we have already concluded seven weeks of committee meetings and most recently, a second special session, which will be the topic of our column this month.

Special Session B took place earlier in February and addressed a few areas that required immediate attention from the Florida Legislature. In summation, four bills were filed to address Immigration, Reedy Creek Improvement District (Disney), Hurricane Relief, Collegiate Athletics, and Election Integrity. Continue reading →

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that Florida had record visitation in 2022. VISIT FLORIDA estimates that Florida welcomed 137.6 million visitors in 2022, an increase of five percent over 2019 and 12.9 percent over 2021. Florida welcomed 33.2 million travelers between October and December 2022, marking a six percent increase from Q4 2021, and the sixth consecutive quarter of overall visitation surpassing pre-pandemic levels. According to VISIT FLORIDA, 30.1 million domestic visitors traveled to Florida in Q4 2022, representing 21 months of domestic visitation growth from 2019.

“People continue to make Florida their vacation destination because they know that in the Free State of Florida, they can enjoy all that we have to offer without mandates or restrictions,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Despite the federal government’s attempts to keep our economy stagnant, Florida’s freedom first approach has created an environment that attracts new visitors, fosters new businesses and drives our economy forward.” Continue reading →

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced his proposal to protect Floridians’ digital rights and privacy from Big Tech companies by creating a Digital Bill of Rights that focuses on protecting Floridians’ privacy, protecting minors from online harms, and eliminating unfair censorship. The proposal also bans the use of TikTok and other social media platforms with ties to China from all state government devices, and through internet services at colleges, universities, and public schools, and prohibits state and local government employees from coordinating with Big Tech companies to censor protected speech. This proposal is for the 2023 Florida Legislative Session that begins in March.

“Our Digital Bill of Rights will ensure Floridians are protected from the overreach and surveillance we have seen from Big Tech companies,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Today’s proposal builds on our efforts to stop Big Tech censorship and combat the malign influence of China through the removal of nefarious platforms like TikTok from any state supported activity.” Continue reading →

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis was joined by student-athletes from Florida State University and the University of Florida to sign House Bill (HB) 7-B, revising Florida’s laws relating to Name, Image and Likeness (NIL). HB 7-B removes barriers for NIL while expanding financial literacy, life skills and entrepreneurship workshop requirements for athletes, requiring agents representing student-athletes to protect them from unauthorized use and exploitation of their NIL and specifying that postsecondary educational institutions are not liable for damages as a result of routine actions taken in the course of intercollegiate athletics.

“In 2020, we took a commonsense approach to ensure that student-athletes could control their name, image and likeness and be paid fairly for it,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Now that the NCAA has taken necessary steps to ensure fairness for student-athletes, we can focus on making sure that those athletes are supported and protected under the law.”  Continue reading →

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Cammack’s bill, H.R. 750—the “Chinese-owned Applications Using The Information of Our Nation Act of 2023” (CAUTION Act)—passed out of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce.

The bill requires any person that sells or distributes a mobile application that the federal government has prohibited for use on government-owned devices must disclose the fact to any individual who downloads, updates, or otherwise uses such an application.
“The CAUTION Act is a critical piece of legislation that warns against the dangers of applications with ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). For years, we’ve known about TikTok and its parent company ByteDance’s connections to the Chinese government and their intentional use of Americans’ data. Applications that have been banned on U.S. government devices, including TikTok, represent real threats and it is only right that such disclaimers be required for users to know the risks involved,” said Congresswoman Cammack.  Continue reading →

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Kat Cammack (FL-03) announced Ocala Fire Rescue’s (OFR) ‘Assistance To Firefighters’ Grant (AFG) award from the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The department will receive $381,150 to improve its operations and safety, including using the grant for new protective equipment.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant is one of three grant programs administered by DHS and FEMA to enhance the safety of the public and firefighters with respect to fire and related hazards.

“I’m so excited for our brave men and women in Ocala to have the equipment necessary to help them do their jobs more safely and effectively,” said Congresswoman Cammack. “Our first responders are heroes and it’s imperative that we ensure they stay safe while serving our communities.” Continue reading →

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Kat Cammack (R-FL-03) and U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced legislation to ensure human and drug traffickers cannot continue to defraud the American taxpayer while they await prosecution and conviction. The bill, “Stop Taxpayer Funding of Traffickers Act,” comes after several visits to the border over the last two years by Congresswoman Cammack, Senator Blackburn, and their colleagues.

While Congresswoman Cammack led the House version of the bill, Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), and Katie Britt (R-AL) co-sponsored the Senate legislation.

“Over the last two years, we’ve seen the horrific consequences of the Biden Border Crisis, including the devastating toll on our communities nationwide from drug and human trafficking. In Marion County, Florida, our sheriff’s department has recovered bricks of fentanyl with stamps from border cartels, alongside pill presses and sophisticated distribution plans. Our first responders gear up each day to save lives from fentanyl overdoses occurring almost daily, putting their own lives at risk,” said Representative Cammack. “Those responsible for trafficking drugs and people into our country at our borders and in our waters should not receive federal assistance after violating our laws—not only is it wrong, but it rewards those who have perpetuated this deadly crisis. I’m pleased to join Senator Blackburn on this effort and look forward to growing this legislation’s support with my colleagues.” Continue reading →

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody today demanded President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations under federal law. The president’s unlawful immigration policies embolden the cartels who are bringing in vast amounts of deadly fentanyl, as well as violence, into the country—putting American lives at risk. Declaring the cartels FTOs gives state and federal agencies the authority to freeze assets, deny entry to cartel members and pursue stricter punishments.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “It’s evident that the Mexican drug cartels are terrorist organizations—they are trafficking deadly fentanyl directly across the border, and it is killing tens of thousands of Americans every year. They are also fueling extreme violence at the southwest border and beyond. Sadly, the Biden administration has only emboldened the cartels to commit even more crimes on both sides of the border—through his unlawful immigration policies. So, today, I am demanding that Biden better equip the federal government to fight back by declaring the drug cartels foreign terrorist organizations.” Continue reading →