'Flirty' GOP state senator banned from domestic violence shelter: report

Florida, once considered the textbook example of a swing state, has become increasingly Republican in recent years — from federal elections to the state legislature.

In 2023, the Florida State Senate is dominated by Republicans, one of whom is Sen. Tom A. Wright. The GOP lawmaker is no stranger to controversy, including being banned from a women's shelter, the Beacon Center, for allegedly flirting with domestic violence survivors.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports that former Beacon Center CEO Angie Pye alleged that she "put a stop to (Wright) coming on the property" because of his "flirty or grooming type of behavior." Pye told the News-Journal, "He got really angry."

According to the News-Journal, "That propensity for anger was on full display on September 2, when Wright got into a videotaped confrontation with the shelter's interim CEO and was given a trespass warning from Daytona Beach police barring him from the Beacon Center. Pye, who resigned as CEO on August 31, and others say Wright has made allegations about human trafficking, prostitution and drug use going on at the Center."

The publication adds that "during a (Florida) State Senate committee hearing," Wright "accused Pye's husband of having a conflict of interest regarding the shelter. All of those claims were false, they said."