It’s one thing when bureaucrats use their political stature for their own gain.
It’s not right, but it’s about as predictable as death and taxes. Historically, politicians
have done this on the down low, but it’s 2021, and now they’re not only doing it, but
parading it on social media for brownie points and votes in the next election. Only this time around,
gun owners are losing their carry permits in the crossfire. Keep watching for the details.
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I saw this story tucked away in a corner of the internet and am really surprised it isn’t getting
more attention, as it’s some pretty twisted and inflammatory stuff. You see, in the state of
Florida, the gun licensing program is overseen by the state’s Commissioner of Agriculture. Her name
is Nikki Fried, and she also just so happens to be running against DeSantis for governor. As part
of her political campaign, she has apparently decided to revoke a bunch of gun licenses from
folks who were at the January 6th rally, and then announce it on Twitter for political clout.
Oh. That's...a plot twist.
Freed is the only Democrat to hold statewide office in Florida, and she
is certainly making sure people know about it by announcing the license suspensions of
every gun owning Floridian arrested for attending January 6th.
Back on July 27th, she posted to Twitter, “I just suspended the concealed weapons permits
of 22 people involved in the insurrection against the United States of America
instigated by Donald Trump on January 6, 2021.” Comments were largely in support of her actions,
asking how terrorists had managed to get permits to begin with
or celebrating it as the sort of “common sense gun reform” the country needs.
Now, the state of Florida does allow Fried to suspend the permits of people who have been
charged with certain crimes - namely, felonies or misdemeanors involving domestic violence, drug
crimes, or multiple DUIs, as those charges would make them a prohibited person. These types of
suspensions are supposed to be temporary, lasting only until the end of the trial. But, obviously,
not every crime qualifies under this rule, and several of the folks from Florida were charged
with misdemeanors that don’t qualify. A search of records on the DOJ website shows that in fact,
a lot of them only hold charges of disorderly conduct or entering a restricted building.
Mmm, the plot thickens.
And, at the time of her first announcement,
some of them hadn’t even been charged yet. All but a couple hadn’t had their days in court,
and the ones that did, had entered guilty pleas to various disorderly conduct and picketing charges.
Nevertheless, her press release accused them all of terrorism, treason, and sedition.
It’s also kind of weirdly coincidental that she decided to do this on the exact
same day that the House Committee investigating January 6th
had its first hearing, and used that for extra clout in the press release.
This of course raised questions as to whether she was acting legally within her scope of state
official, or engaging in virtue signaling activism for the sake of her campaign. Florida Carry Inc
sent a public records request to Fried’s office the very next day, asking for the suspension
noticies and qualifying charging documents and criminal records that allowed her to do this.
Note, the group did not ask for identifying information on WHO
had their licenses revoked, as that information is supposed to be confidential.
They simply asked for proof that she was acting legally, and requested that any
personal information in those documents be redacted in order to comply with the law.
Fried ignored the request, which is...well, a violation of state law.
Which isn’t proof, but provides us a likely answer to Florida Carry’s question.
Of course it's appropriate!
Then, last month on October 19th, she Tweeted again, announcing the suspension of an additional
six licenses of “domestic terrorists,” bringing the total to 28 - stating that
she and her office would continue working to “hold these traitors accountable.”
None of the folks from Florida have been charged with treason, and only a handful
of the 63 arrests from Florida were charged with anything that could even remotely fall
under the federal guidelines for terrorism charges.
At this point, allegedly, all of the Florida arrests that had carry permits have now had
them suspended. And again, while that personal information is supposed to be confidential,
when it's half of the people that were arrested, you have a 50/50 chance of guessing who it is.
That same day, she released a public statement,
“The storming of the Capitol on January 6th where we witnessed acts of violence
and domestic terrorism intended to undermine our democratic institutions
shook our nation to its core – and its impact continues to be felt
every day. The individuals involved must be held accountable for their treasonous actions. While
Florida has the shameful distinction of being home to the largest proportion of individuals
charged in relation to the insurrection, our department has been using its lawful authority
and carrying out its legal duty to suspend the licenses of anyone charged with disqualifying
offenses,” said Commissioner Fried. “When we announced the initial 22 suspensions earlier
this summer, we made it clear that this would be an ongoing effort and that additional suspensions
and revocations would be issued as additional charges were filed and sentences rendered.
Since that time, FDACS has suspended six additional licenses of individuals related
to the insurrection, and should further charges and sentences come down, we will enact further
suspensions and revocations of licenses issued by our department as required by Florida statute.”
Two days later, her office finally recognized the records request,
almost a full three months after it was sent. The acknowledgement included a reference
number and told Florida Carry to check the government portal for any future updates.
To date, her office still has not supplied any
of the documents or returned any phone calls, emails, or messages.
But, when the Second Amendment Foundation asked for an interview, Fried’s Communications Director
responded that the office legally couldn’t provide any personal information about the revoked
licenses, as Florida law requires that information to remain confidential and off the public record.
Which...a, had nothing to do with an interview request and b,
was specifically addressed in the records request.
Supporters of the move, such as writer Amy Sherman of the Tampa Bay Times,
says the move is perfectly fine and legitimate because people who have
had their licenses revoked can request a hearing if they want. She also admitted,
in the same piece, that when a Florida attorney criticized the lack of due process,
Sherman and the Times used their “fact checking” relationship with Facebook to flag the post as
“fake news and misinformation.” Sherman also included four people and their charges as an
example of why people had their licenses revoked - she of course chose to display a former cop,
the first guy to be sentenced to a felony, and, of course, known Proud Boy Joseph Biggs - all of
which are not really a fair average of the other 60 Florida residents who have been arrested.
What’s ironic, is that the whole reason the state originally put the licensing program
under the Department of Agriculture is so that there could be a state
official who could be held accountable for abusing or misusing the licensing program.
Go figure.
What’s also ironic is, interestingly enough, Fried is also the only state official
known to have both a carry permit and a Florida Medical Marijuana card,
even though it still, to my knowledge, would make her a prohibited person herself.
Funny how that works.
That’s it for today’s video, please like, share, drop a comment, or even subscribe if you’re new
here. You can also check out all of my support options in the description if you’d like to help
the channel out in other ways. As always, thanks for tuning in, stay safe, and happy shooting.
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