Official lay dying unnoticed in DeSantis' office for 24 minutes: law enforcement report

Peter Antonacci left a meeting with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) on Sept. 23, 2022, and several moments later, he was dead mere steps from the room. No one noticed. It has been over a year, and the information about the incident is only now being revealed.

Florida Bulldog reported Sunday that the man DeSantis hired to head up his so-called "elections fraud unit" lay dead or dying in the governor's office before anyone noticed. With security cameras turned to watch, for 24 minutes, Antonacci lay motionless on the ground.

At the time, authorities claimed "he died while at work in the Capitol building, of which the governor’s office is a part," said the Bulldog.

The information is only coming to light now because the Florida Bulldog filed a public records request about the matter in February after being tipped off that Antonacci died in the governor's office.

The report by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) continues: “At approximately 1:46 p.m., Mr. Antonacci is observed standing up and walking out of the conference room [redacted]. ... "He steadies himself on the left wall. The hall [redacted] when he falls and appears to strike his head on the door on the [redacted] (sic). There appeared to be no foul play in the Room (sic) or hallway. At approximately 2:10:05pm, FDL Comm. [Mark] Glass appears to notice Antonacci down the hallway to his aid (sic)."

The 911 call from a staffer in the governor's office reported that someone was doing CPR and they were searching for a defibrillator. She thought he had a heart attack.

"By the time a Capitol police officer arrived a minute or two later and hooked the pulseless Antonacci up to an automated external defibrillator (AED), the machine that can administer a life-saving electrical shock to victims of sudden cardiac arrest, assessed Antonacci and advised that 'no shock' was needed," the site explains.

His doctor confirmed that Antonacci had heart disease and other cardiac issues, signing off on the cause of death being related to that condition.

The local news site also observed that the report went into detail about what Antonacci was wearing, but couldn't identify all 11 people who were in the meeting at the time. FDLE chief of staff Shane Desguin noted that he knew there was an emergency because he heard the "thud" of Antonacci hitting on the floor and then, about 25 minutes later, heard Glass shouting for help. The law enforcement official did not investigate the "thud."

The Bulldog spoke to a Florida medical examiner who called it unusual not to have an autopsy in such a case.

"I’m wondering why he didn’t go through the medical examiner’s office seeing that he died in the governor’s office. Wouldn’t they want to do that, just to CYA? I mean, gosh, [Gov. Lawton] Chiles died at the executive mansion and he went through the medical examiner’s office,' the medical examiner told the Bulldog.

Read the full report here.