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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to a crowd of supporters during the Keep Florida Free Tour. / PHOTO: AP (Bethany Blankley, The Center Square ) Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis has suspended another public official from office, this time Jose Angel Martinez, Miami-Dade County Commissioner-District 11, after he was arrested on Aug. 30.
Martinez was arrested “for felony charges of unlawful compensation for official behavior… and conspiracy to commit unlawful compensation,” in violation of state statutes, which are second- and third-degree felonies, the governor’s office said.
DeSantis’s communications director issued a statement saying, “it is in the best interest of the residents of Miami-Dade County that Martinez be immediately suspended from the public office that he holds” and that his replacement would be appointed in the coming weeks.
Martinez first held his nonpartisan District 11 seat in 2000. He ran for Congress in 2014 as a Republican and lost. He then ran again for county commissioner in 2016 and won. He won reelection in 2020.
According to his arrest warrant, Martinez allegedly accepted a total of $15,000 in payments from a supermarket and property owner who was fighting a county ordinance and subsequent fines for being in violation, NBC News Miami reported . The owner allegedly made the payments while also lobbying the commissioners to amend the ordinance.
Martinez’s attorney, Benedict Kuehne, issued a statement saying the charges were “baseless” and “unfounded.” While Martinez looks forward to clearing his name, Kuehne said, he also supports whomever DeSantis chooses as his replacement.
“The Commissioner offers his support to whomever the [Gov.] decides to appoint to the Miami-Dade County District 11 seat. The most important issue continues to be providing services and protecting the well-being of the residents of the District 11 and of our entire community,” Kuehne said.
“Commissioner Martinez looks forward to being completely vindicated and cleared […]
Will America-First News Outlets Make it to 2023?
Things are looking grim for conservative and populist news sites.
There’s something happening behind the scenes at several popular conservative news outlets. 2021 was bad, but 2022 is proving to be disastrous for news sites that aren’t “playing ball” with the corporate media narrative. It’s being said that advertisers are cracking down, forcing some of the biggest ad networks like Google and Yahoo to pull their inventory from conservative outlets. This has had two major effects. First, it has cooled most conservative outlets from discussing “taboo” topics like Pandemic Panic Theater, voter fraud, or The Great Reset. Second, it has isolated those ad networks that aren’t playing ball.
Certain topics are anathema for most ad networks. Speaking out against vaccines or vaccine mandates is a certain path to being demonetized. Highlighting voter fraud in the 2020 and future elections is another instant advertising death penalty. Throw in truthful stories about climate change hysteria, Critical Race Theory, and the border crisis and it’s easy to understand how difficult it is for America-First news outlets to spread the facts, share conservative opinions, and still pay the bills.
Without naming names, I have been told of several news outlets who have been forced to either consolidate with larger organizations or who have backed down on covering certain topics out of fear of being “canceled” by the ad networks. I get it. This is a business for many of us and it’s not very profitable. Those of us who do this for a living are often barely squeaking by, so loss of additional revenue can often mean being forced to make cuts. That means not being able to cover the topics properly. Its a Catch-22: Tell the truth and lose the money necessary to keep telling the truth, or avoid the truth and make enough money to survive. Those who have chosen survival simply aren’t able to spread the truth properly.
We will never avoid the truth. The Lord will provide if it is His will. Our job is simply to share the facts, spread the Gospel, and educate as many Americans as possible while exposing the forces of evil.
To those who have the means, we ask that you please donate. We have options available now, but there is no telling when those options will cancel us. We have our GivingFuel page. There have been many who have been canceled by PayPal, but for now it’s still an option. Your generosity is what keeps these sites running and allows us to get the truth to the masses. We’ve had great success in growing but we know we can do more with your assistance.
Thank you, and God Bless!
JD Rucker