Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix

Federal judge holds AG James Uthmeier in contempt of court

by Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix
June 17, 2025

For the first time in recent history, a federal judge on Tuesday found Florida’s attorney general in contempt of court for referring to the court’s order blocking a new state immigration law as illegitimate and unlawful....

Gov. Ron DeSantis called the investigation by a state attorney into First Lady Casey DeSantis’ Hope Florida Foundation a manufactured political operation during a press conference Wednesday afternoon.

The governor spoke at more length Wednesday than he’d done Tuesday when the Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald first reported the open investigation by State’s Attorney Jack Campbell in Tallahassee into the transfer to the foundation of $10 million from a $67 million Medicaid overpayment settlement with the state.

After signing three bills in Winter Haven, DeSantis answered questions about the Hope Florida investigation by insulting Pensacola Republican Alex Andrade, chair of the House Health Care Budget Subcommittee, who launched a legislative probe into the settlement during this year’s legislative session. ...

DeSantis rages at open investigation into Hope Florida Foundation, calls it ‘manufactured’

by Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix
May 21, 2025

Gov. Ron DeSantis called the investigation by a state attorney into First Lady Casey DeSantis’ Hope Florida Foundation a manufactured political operation during a press conference Wednesday afternoon, ...

Gov. Ron DeSantis is standing by Attorney General James Uthmeier’s open defiance of a federal court order requiring law enforcement agencies in Florida to halt immigration arrests under a new state immigration law.

Talking with reporters in Tampa, the governor said the episode raises a “larger issue” of who can enact public policy in the United States.

“He’s right on the law,” DeSantis said about Uthmeier’s decision to defy the court. “He has the courage to stand and do what’s right, even knowing that he’s going to get blowback.” ...

< South Florida’s U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson said she saw a “tent city” that could hold hundreds of people at the Miami immigration detention center on Thursday.

Following her visit to the Krome North Service Processing Center, Wilson told reporters she saw a structure that officials at the center told her had been built in 14 days to house hundreds of detained immigrants.

She referred to the structure as a tent city, but said the two-story building was made out of a harder material than cloth and that it had pipes for air conditioning. ...