Tallahassee residents and visitors looking skyward Friday morning may have caught sight of a rather accusatory message aimed at the President and his handpicked top cop.
A plane-carried banner flying over the Capitol Building and nearby facilities declared that President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi “are protecting predators” — a reference to still-withheld records on underage sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, a former friend of the President’s.
The group behind the message, which flew from 9 a.m. to noon: UltraViolet, a Washington-based women’s advocacy organization.
UltraViolet previously campaigned against R. Kelly, Bill O’Reilly and Harvey Weinstein and recently launched a petition calling for Bondi to for “exploiting survivors’ pain and using Jeffrey Epstein’s horrific case to score political points with her and President Trump’s right-wing base.”
“Donald Trump and Pam Bondi do not care about survivors of sexual exploitation and abuse,” UltraViolet Campaign Director Elisa Batista said in a statement.
“They’ve never taken into account the perspectives and needs of the children, now adult women, who Epstein trafficked and abused, three of whom have taken their own lives. Instead, they have heartlessly and carelessly used this case to score political points with right-wing social media influencers and the MAGA base. Survivors deserve better than this.”
UltraViolet’s banner accusing President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi of ‘protecting predators’ flies over the Florida Capitol, federal courthouse and federal correctional facility where Jeffrey Epstein collaborator Ghislaine Maxwell is imprisoned. Image via UltraViolet and Bob O’Lary.
The banner flying came the same day Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche concluded meetings with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s ex-girlfriend and co-conspirator. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for child sex trafficking at the federal correctional facility in Tallahassee. UltraViolet also flew the banner over prison Friday.
Ethics experts criticized the meetings, citing among other things Blanche’s previous role as Trump’s defense attorney in the Stormy Daniels hush money case, Trump’s decadeslong relationship with Epstein and the administration’s control of ongoing investigations.
The right thing to do to deliver justice to victims, UltraViolet said, is hire a neutral, third-party investigator.
“It’s time for Trump and Bondi to protect survivors and honor their wishes for full transparency and swift accountability,” Batista said. “They must release all files related to Epstein’s crimes, network, and enablers.”
Federal Judge Robin Rosenbaum this week denied the U.S. Department of Justice’s request to unseal 2005 and 2007 grand jury transcripts involving Epstein’s predation of underage girls while living in Palm Beach. The Judge cited insufficient legal exceptions.
The Justice Department sought the records amid mounting pressure from Trump’sbase, which believes a conspiracy shielded Epstein’s high-profile associates. Another request is pending in New York.
Epstein avoided federal charges in 2008 through a “sweetheart” plea deal. He died by apparent suicide in 2019 while awaiting new charges.
Last year, some 150 pages of grand jury testimony were made public through narrowly written Florida legislation.
In May, the Justice Department told Trump that his name was among many that appeared multiple times in what Bondi described in March as a “truckload” of documents related to Epstein, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Earlier this month, Bondi walked back that assertion, telling reporters she was referring instead to a collection of files related to Epstein and the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. She added that many of the videos in Epstein’s files were “child porn” and were “never going to see the light of day.”
The Justice Department and FBI later released a video of what it called “full raw” from surveillance cameras of Epstein’s cell on the night of his death. Investigators from WIRED found evidence the video was instead two clips stitched together using Adobe Premiere Pro and that one of the source clips had nearly three minutes removed from it during the editing process.
A one-minute gap previously cited in the video was attributed to a routine nightly system reset at the Metropolitan Correctional Facility in Manhattan, where Epstein was being held while awaiting a new trial on federal sex trafficking charges involving minors.
The horrific shooting in Australia that claimed at least 16 lives during a Hanukkah celebration has prompted an expression of sympathy from Florida lawmakers.
The Florida Jewish Legislative Caucus issued a statement of condemnation of the violence during the Jewish observance on Sydney’s Bondi Beach. The Caucus published its statement Sunday afternoon.
“The Florida Legislative Jewish Caucus unequivocally condemns the horrific and senseless killing that occurred during Hanukkah in Australia. An act of violence against Jews celebrating their faith is an attack not only on a single community, but on the fundamental values of freedom, religious liberty, and human dignity,” the Florida Legislative Caucus said in a news release.
“We stand in unwavering solidarity with our Jewish brothers and sisters in Australia, with the victims’ families, and with Jewish communities around the world who are once again forced to confront hatred simply for being who they are. The State of Florida’s Jewish legislators join in mourning, remembrance, and resolve.”
The Florida LegislativeJewish Caucus has a dozen members from the House of Representatives and two State Senators.
Hundreds of people had gathered Sunday at the beach for an event to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah, when gunmen opened fire. At least 38 others were injured in the attack.
New South Wales Health Minister Ryan Park said the death toll had risen from 12 to 16 overnight, including a 12-year-old child. Three other children are being treated in hospital, he said.
“This is absolutely horrendous for the community broadly, but particularly the Jewish community. … What we saw last night was the worst of humanity, but at the same time, the very best of humanity,” Park said.
The massacre at one of Australia’s most popular beaches followed a wave of antisemitic attacks that have roiled the country over the past year, although the authorities didn’t suggest those and Sunday’s shooting were connected. It is the deadliest shooting in almost three decades in a country with strict gun control laws.
One gunman was fatally shot by police and the second was arrested and in critical condition, authorities said. Police said one gunman was known to security services, but there was no specific threat.
At least 29 people were confirmed wounded, including two police officers, said Mal Lanyon, police commissioner for New South Wales state, where Sydney is located.
“This attack was designed to target Sydney’s Jewish community,” New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said.
The violence erupted at the end of a summer day when thousands had flocked to Bondi Beach, including hundreds gathered for the Chanukah by the Sea event celebrating the start of the eight-day Hanukkah festival.
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Material from The Associated Press was used in this report with permission.
Behavioral health officials have a list of precautions for Floridians to deal with anxieities heading into Christmas and New Year’s Day.
While the holidays can bring a lot of comfort and joy, the can also be a stressful time and Florida’s health management entities are providing some helpful tips to deal with yuletide anxiety.
There are seven behavioral health managing entities in the state and all of them are aware that stress heading into Christmas and New Year’s Day can seem overwhelming at times. They’re advising balance may be one of the key elements in dealing with the holidays.
“The holidays are a time of joy, but they can also be a time of stress, sadness and triggering situations,” said Natalie Kelly, CEO of the Florida Association of Managing Entities. “Florida’s behavioral health Managing Entities remind Floridians that behavioral health services are available, even to those who are uninsured or underinsured.”
The state’s behavioral health professionals are also providing a list of tips to help come to grips with any holiday tension including:
— Get plenty of exercise. Exercising boosts your mood and combats depression.
— Limit alcohol intake. Alcohol is a depressant that can cause feelings of anxiety, sadness and depression.
— Set healthy boundaries and don’t overextend yourself. Setting realistic expectations can help reduce stress.
— Seek the help of a counselor for mental health needs. If you feel overwhelmed or the need to get help to address your feelings, contact a counselor.
— Call 2-1-1 if needed to connect with resources in your community.
— Call 9-8-8 if you or a loved one is having suicidal thoughts.
A mental-health treatment network has been established in the state for providers who deliver services to residents needing help. Those services extend to parents and children, veterans and the homeless.
Providers serve patients for not only mental health needs, but substance use, housing, transportation and employment help. Those managing entities are often overseen by community organizations and administrators and are accountable to state and federal funds.
Patricia ‘Trish’ Petrosky is being added to the Lee County Commission while Charles ‘Wade’ Ellenburg joins the Holmes County Commission.
Two Florida county commissions are getting new members.
Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed two new county commissioners this month. One is taking a seat on the Lee County Board of Commissioners. The other will assume a seat on the Holmes County Commission.
DeSantis appointed Patricia “Trish” Petrosky to the Lee County Commission, home to Fort Myers. Petrosky is replacing Mike Greenwell.
Greenwell served on the District 5 seat of the County Commission since July 2022. That’s when DeSantis appointed Greenwell to that panel. Greenwell would rise to Chairman of the Lee County Commission in 2024 and he was reelected to that post that year. But he passed away Oct. 9 after a battle with cancer and there were memorial services in Lee County. DeSantis also ordered American and Florida flags to fly at half staffon Oct. 21.
Greenwell was with the Boston Red Sox Major League Baseball organization for about a dozen years. That franchise has Spring Training operations in Fort Myers and Greenwell returned to Lee Countyt to raise a family and entered local business.
Petrosky is the Executive Assistant at Evangelical Christian School in Fort Myers. She also was a former realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and was a member of the Naples Area Board of Realtors Association.
Meanwhile in Holmes County, DeSantis has appointed Charles “Wade” Ellenburg to that County Commission.
Ellenburg fills the District 2 seat on the Holmes County board after Brandon Newsom was suspended from the panel this year following felony charges. Newsom was involved allegations of violating bail bond laws in the Northwest Florida county that boarders the Georgia state line, according to a report in the Holmes County News.