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John Anthony Schubert III, 47, of Bradenton, Florida, pleaded guilty Thursday in the District of Columbia to a felony offense of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers. Schubert will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper on July 11.Schubert's actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.
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A controversial bill that would prevent investigations of local law enforcement by civilian review boards was formally sent Wednesday to Gov. Ron DeSantis. The measure (HB 601), which the Legislature passed last month, would affect at least 21 cities with civilian review boards. The Legislature on Wednesday also sent a bill (SB 184) to DeSantis that would make it a crime to “harass” law enforcement officers, correctional probation officers, firefighters or emergency medical-care providers while they're working.
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The project will be conducted at a later date, county officials said.
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A federal judge on Tuesday blocked Florida education officials from enforcing a law requiring a transgender teacher to use pronouns that align with her sex assigned at birth, saying the law violated her First Amendment rights.The 2023 law restricts educators’ use of personal pronouns and titles in schools. Violations of the law — one of a number of measures backed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis targeting the LGBTQ community over the past few years — can result in teachers being stripped of certifications and hefty financial penalties for school districts.
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Services have been scheduled April 26 and April 27 for Senate President Kathleen Passidomo’s husband, John, who died last week from injuries suffered in a fall.
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Amanda Cochran of Alva has tossed her hat in the ring for Lee County Commissioner after another candidate she supported withdrew in a campaign that will see her face off against incumbent commissioner Mike Greenwell in the GOP primary.
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Hackers broke into the computer network of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice in Tallahassee, which runs the state's juvenile detention centers and programs to steer troubled kids away from crime. It led to a continuing shutdown of the digital backbone the agency uses to manage cases statewide.The department took some of its computer systems offline as early as March 29 due to what spokeswoman Amanda Slama described as an unspecified security concern, she confirmed in a statement Thursday afternoon, two days after a reporter’s initial inquiries about the matter.
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John Passidomo, the husband of Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, died Wednesday after falling and suffering massive head trauma and other injuries, according to a memo distributed by the Florida Senate.
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The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday to launch Affordable Housing Development New Construction Programs with the publication of the Notice of Funding Availability for up to $200 million from Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds.Lee County’s CDBG-DR Action Plan includes Affordable Housing and Development Programs that provide grant funding for the development and preservation of affordable housing units.
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A divided Florida Supreme Court on Monday approved placing on the November ballot a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at allowing recreational use of marijuana.Trulieve, the state’s largest medical-marijuana company, has spent more than $40 million on the effort to get the proposed constitutional amendment before voters.