A firearm shop in the Panhandle that boasted last month about hiring 22-year-old gun rights figure Kyle Rittenhouse is seeing some of its inventory seized by local law enforcement.

Deputies from the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office (SRSO) executed a court order at Gulf Coast Gun in Milton, confiscating portions of business’ inventory as part of a legal matter between the shop’s owner and another company.

Court records show that Circuit Judge James Duncan ordered inventory from the shop to be seized as collateral for a loan Gulf Coast Gun owner Chris Smith took out in May 2021 from Lakeland West Capital 48, a limited liability company that registered with the state of Texas in April 2024 but has affiliate companies registered in Florida.

The value of the inventory totals between $600,000 and $1.2 million.

A Tuesday statement from the SRSO said officers were merely following through on a court order and, beyond that, “has no further involvement” in the matter.

Rittenhouse began to be regularly featured on Gulf Coast Gun’s Facebook page in late January, when the business posted a photo of the young man behind its store counter to promote the company’s 10th anniversary sale.

“Buy any firearm between now and Saturday February 1 and get a signed copy of Kyle’s book Acquitted for free,” the Jan. 24 post said.

Rittenhouse — whom the Gulf Coast Gun has referred to as the “Kenosha Kid,” a reference to Rittenhouse’s fatal shooting of two men and wounding of a third during an August 2020 protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin — was included or mentioned in online promotions of the store at least 10 times since.

On Feb. 5, Gulf Coast Gun announced on Facebook Rittenhouse had become a full-time employee, inviting followers to come in and welcome him to the team.

“Kyle will even ring you up,” the post said.

Rittenhouse responded on X, saying he was “Excited to apart (sic) of the team!”

That evening, Smith posted a 25-second video addressing the criticism his business had received for associating itself with Rittenhouse. He suggested anyone who has a problem with Rittenhouse’s employment there are pedophiles.

“I just want to take a quick minute to thank all the people that are mad that we’ve hired Kyle Rittenhouse at our store, for commenting on our post,” he said. “Now we know where all the pedos are.”

Smith then suggestively noted an ongoing sale of thermal optics.

“They’re great for night hunting,” he said.

Martin is hardly alone in being a big fan of Rittenhouse. In 2021, ahead of a jury’s “not guilty” verdict in a trial over the Kenosha shootings, Gov. Ron DeSantis came to Rittenhouse’s defense.

“The whole Kenosha episode has been a tragic farce built upon a foundation of corporate media lies,” he said in campaign fundraising emails.

The Governor urged Rittenhouse to sue media outlets “who smeared him into oblivion.’

DeSantis’ then-Press Secretary, Christina Pushaw, welcomed Rittenhouse and his family to Florida in a photo posted to X in November 2021.

That came shortly after former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz suggested he might hire Rittenhouse, whom he said “would probably make a pretty good congressional intern.”

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Despite long-standing support from both parties for accepting thoroughly vetted refugees, the program has become politicized in recent years. Trump also temporarily halted it during his first term, and then dramatically decreased the number of refugees who could enter the U.S. each year.

During arguments, Flentje insisted the order was well within Trump’s authority, citing a law that allows the president to deny entry to foreigners whose admission to the U.S. “would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.”

“This is a broad authority that is essentially like a lawmaking authority conferred on the president,” Flentje said.

He also disputed the notion that the plaintiffs had suffered the sort of “irreparable” harms that would warrant granting a broad order blocking the administration’s actions. Most people whose travel to the U.S. was canceled at the last minute had already been moved to a third country where they were out of danger, he said, and the cancellation of funding for refugee aid groups amounted to a contract dispute.

The judge disagreed.

“I’ve read the declarations,” Whitehead said. “I have refugees stranded in dangerous places. I have families who have sold everything they’ve owned in advance of travel, which was canceled. I have spouses and children separated indefinitely from their family members in the U.S., resettlement agencies that have already laid off hundreds of staff.

“Aren’t these textbook examples of harms that can’t be undone by money damages?” he asked.

The plaintiffs include the International Refugee Assistance Project on behalf of Church World Service, the Jewish refugee resettlement agency HIAS, Lutheran Community Services Northwest, and individual refugees and family members. They said their ability to provide critical services to refugees — including those already in the U.S. — has been severely inhibited by Trump’s order.

IRAP attorney Deepa Alagesan called Trump’s efforts to dismantle the refugee program “far-reaching and devastating.” She argued that the president had not shown how the entry of these refugees would be detrimental to the U.S., and at a news conference after the hearing, the plaintiffs and their supporters described refugees as a blessing to the country rather than a burden.

Tshishiku Henry, an activist who works on behalf of refugees in Washington state, called his presence outside the courthouse “the miracle of the second chance.” He and his wife resettled in the U.S. in 2018 after fleeing war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he said.

Attorney General James Uthmeier formally filed to run for a full term in his Cabinet post.

The Tallahassee Republican filed days after he took his oath after being appointed to the job by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Uthmeier served as the Governor’s Chief of Staff and, before that, as his General Counsel. For a period of time, he managed DeSantis’ presidential campaign last year.

“On my first day, I made a promise to Floridians that I would endeavor every day to keep doing what is right and levy justice where it was due. I plan to keep that promise,” Uthmeier said. “I will win this election and keep Florida safe, strong, and free.”

He is currently serving out the term of former Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, whom DeSantis appointed to the U.S. Senate last month. That job opened after former U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s appointment as Secretary of State.

That means less than two years after taking on the job, he will stand for election to a full four-year term. However, the positive side for Uthmeier could be the opportunity to serve in the job for nearly a decade before term limits prohibit a bid, presuming he can win full terms in 2026 and 2030.

Uthmeier submitted his paperwork for office on Monday and named Rich Heitmeyer his campaign treasurer. The statewide campaign marks the first time Uthmeier himself will run for office.

So far, he’s the only candidate to run for the Attorney General post, though that could change. Regardless, he could enjoy the benefits of incumbency, serving as Florida’s top legal officer into next year’s Republican Primary and General Election.

At the same time, President Donald Trump preemptively endorsed candidates for Governor and Chief Financial Officer, announcing his preference respectively for Byron Donalds and for Joe Gruters before either formally entered their races. The President has made no such preference clear for the Attorney General in his home state.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, a former Florida Attorney General, also revealed this weekend that she had considered running for the post before Trump appointed her to her current post. Other candidates rumored to be considering a run include former Florida House Speakers Chris Sprowls and Paul Renner and former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz.

Thanks to his experience managing statewide campaigns, Uthmeier could enjoy a fundraising edge. Earlier this month, he launched the political committee Friends of James Uthmeier in anticipation of his statewide run.

He also chairs the still-active Florida Freedom Fund, which last year campaigned successfully to defeat ballot measures that sought to expand access to abortions and marijuana. That committee closed 2024 with over $2.11 million cash on hand, though DeSantis has signaled he would like to use that committee to weigh in during Republican Primary elections next year.

Uthmeier previously chaired Keep Florida Clean, Inc., which focused last year on defeating the marijuana ballot measure. That committee was disbanded last week but has not yet released its final expenditure reports. A disbandment letter said all remaining funding, about $121,000 as of the end of 2024, will be distributed into a 527 political organization.

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