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There are renewed calls for the removal of a confederate monument on the grounds of the State Capitol.

An African American state representative has said she will push for the relocation of the monument dedicated to Confederate soldiers.

The obelisk-style monument was dedicated in 1882 and moved onto the grounds of what is now the Old State Capitol in 1923.

The words etched into the stone dedicate the monument to preserving the memory of men of who fought for Florida in the Civil War.

“Floridians served all across the theaters of war,” said David McCallister with the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

McCallister has ties to soldiers on both sides of the war.

“These monuments represent the men who served their state and defended their families,” said McCallister.

But for social justice advocate Lakey Love, who often holds protests on the steps of the Old Capitol steps, the monument has a different meaning.

“Inequality, inequity and violence against black and brown people in this country,” said Love.

State Representative Geraldine Thompson said she plans to work with the Governor’s Office and possibly file legislation to relocate the statue.

She said she’d support moving it inside of the Old Capitol, which is now a museum, or to a Confederate cemetery.

Thompson said a plaque explaining the context of Florida’s involvement int he Civil War would take the monument’s place.

Florida has shied away from Confederate symbols at the Capitol in recent years.

The Confederate flag was removed from the Senate seal and the Confederate flag that once flew in front of the Capitol was taken down nearly two decades ago.

But McCallister condemned the call for relocating the monument.

“It’s hateful. It’s representative of a far radical left-wing agenda,” said McCallister.

Before the monument could be moved it still needs to be concluded who actually owns it.

When called to move the statue after Charlottesville, then-Governor Rick Scott said it was the Legislature that would need to act, but that was disputed by then-Senate President Joe Negron.

A bill filed to protect Confederate monuments didn’t get a hearing this past legislative session, but in 2018 lawmakers did approve construction of a memorial to enslaved Floridians on the Capitol grounds.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has confirmed it is reviewing a complaint that alleges Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis violated the law by releasing a harassment complaint to the public while the case was still open.

The complaint was filed against Florida’s now suspended top financial regulator Ronald Rubin.

Patronis released a redacted version of the complaint, despite the form guaranteeing confidentiality.

Attorney Tiffany Cruz said her client was able to be identified despite the redactions.

“It’s no service to the employees filing these complaints. It gives very little confidence to future victims of sexual harassment, male or female, that when they report and expect their reports to be confidential that is what will happen,” said Cruz.

Cruz called on the state’s Attorney General Ashley Moody to investigate the possible violation.

Instead Moody referred the complaint to the Inspector General overseeing the case against Rubin.

After making no determination on whether or not Patronis violated the law, the Inspector General for the Department of Financial Services referred the case to FDLE.

Feeling the heat, the CFO’s Office finally issued a statement Wednesday.

In the three-part legalize explanation the Department of Financial Services’ General Council Peter Penrod asserted the release of the sexual harassment complaint was proper because the identity of the victim was redacted.

But this isn’t the first time Patronis has come under fire for potentially violating the privacy of a sexual harassment complainant.

In 2018, Patronis released a report on another complaint, in which the victim’s name was initially unredacted.

Cruz also represented the victim in that case.

She said the report was used to pressure Rubin’s predecessor, Drew Breakspear to resign.

“That is very similar to what is now happening. We have two valid complaints of sexual harassment being utilized by an Executive member to further whatever agenda that he may have,” said Cruz.

Patronis has called for the firing of Rubin to be discussed at the next meeting of the Governor and cabinet, which is scheduled for July 25th.

Both Rubin and his predecessor Breakspear have made their own allegations against Patronis.

Rubin alleges he was ousted for not hiring someone Patronis had recommended.

FDLE confirmed last week that it had received information regarding Rubin’s complaint.

The US scored a major victory in a lawsuit against a British opioid manufacturer, Thursday.

The news comes as new statistics Florida’s opioid crisis may be on the decline.

The latest interim report from the state’s Medical Examiners Commission shows there were nearly 300 fewer opioid deaths in the first half of 2018, compared to the first half of 2017.

“We are actually guardedly optimistic,” said Melanie Brown-Woofter, President of the Florida Council for Community Mental Health.

Brown-Woofter said the drop suggests Florida’s multi-faceted approach to tackling the crisis may be paying off.

“There’s increased training with emergency responders, with ED Departments (Emergency Departments) and with medical prescribers, so that prescribing patterns have changed,” said Brown-Woofter.

The report was released just days before the US Government solidified a $1.4 billion settlement with the British opioid manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser.

Florida was part of the lawsuit and could be entitled to a portion of the winnings.

$200 million will be dispersed among states involved in the case for Medicaid reimbursement.

Florida’s Attorney General Ashley Moody Tweeted the recovery,”Should send a strong message to anyone engaging in illicit conduct to increase drug dependency.”

The Attorney General will also have access to additional tools to aid in the state’s current and possible future lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors, thanks to a law passed during the 2019 legislative session.

The law allows Moody to access to the state’s prescription drug monitoring database.

Despite the victories, Florida’s opioid crisis is far from over.

“We’re still in the middle of an incredible epidemic and we need to continue the fight using all available resources so that we can eliminate it,” said Brown-Woofter.

The latest numbers suggest 17 Floridians continue to die each day from opioids.

The Commission’s report also showed deaths attributed to the potent opioid Fentanyl skyrocketed 65% between the first half of 2017 and 2018.

A fired Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy charged with planting drugs on unsuspecting motorists was himself making a first appearance after his arrest on 33 felonies ranging from official misconduct to fabricating evidence to false imprisonment.

On Thursday, the fired deputy Zach Wester found himself in the same position he put at least nine other people in, sitting in jail, facing a judge setting his bond.

In addition to the nearly three-dozen felonies, Wester is also facing 19 misdemeanors.

His lawyers asked for a $51,000 bond.

“I don’t think there’s any thing to show he will not appear,” said Wester’s attorney Ryan Davis.

The judge more than tripled the defenses request, setting Wester’s bond at $169,500.

As part of any bail, the Wester may not have any contact with any of the victims.

Wester’s parents and wife watched the hearing near tears.

His father is a law enforcement veteran with the same agency.

“He obviously denies the allegations,” said attorney Tim Jansen, who is also representing Wester.

When asked how Wester could deny video evidence taken from his own body camera during a 2018 traffic stop, which appears to show Wester planting drugs in a woman’s purse, Jansen said the legal team had not seen any of the evidence yet.
“We requested a high monetary bond in this case because of the nature of the offenses. It was a pattern of ongoing conduct, and it went to the heart of the nature of the criminal justice system,” said prosecuting attorney Thomas Williams.

In Jackson County 119 cases have already been dismissed.

At least 14 cases in Liberty county, where Wester first worked, are also being thrown out.

But like all of the victims in this case, their records are stained with an arrest.

“I can’t say that even though they were arrested prosecuted, and maybe entered a plea,” said 2nd Judicial Circuit State Attorney Jack Campbell. “I can’t say they whether they were guilty or not because I no longer have confidence in the officer that was involved in that case.”

FDLE logged more than 1,400 man hours to make their case.

Prosecutors say they are ready if the defense requests a speedy trial.

However the case remains open.

FDLE has asked any other potential victims to come forward.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rtz1fPMljCw&feature=youtu.be

On what would have been Mary McLeod Bethune’s 144th birthday, Governor Ron DeSantis formally requested a statue of the civil rights leader replace Confederate general Edmund Kirby Smith, who currently represents Florida in Statuary Hall.

“In 154 years of Statuary Hall, there has never been an African American to represent a state,” said Former State Representative Patrick Henry in 2018.

Henry sponsored Legislation that same year that formally approved Bethune to replace Smith, who had represented Florida in D.C. for nearly 100 years.

There was still the question of what would become of the general.

Towson Fraser was part of the committee tasked with picking a new home.

“We had three proposals, is my recollection,” said Fraser who sits on the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. “One of which was going to be in St. Augustine. One was actually a Jacksonville doctor who just wanted to put it in his home.”

The winning bidder was ultimately a Central Florida museum in Lake County.
“They made a real commitment to display the statue with the entire historical context,” said Fraser.

Despite the historical context included in the planned exhibit, there are some groups of Lake County residents who have protested the general’s move to their community.

But Fraser said the museum was ultimately the best choice.

“Where it could be displayed and the entire story could be told. Not just stuck in a warehouse somewhere, or as some of the other proposals, put in someone’s personal home,” said Fraser.

Bethune’s statue is currently being constructed in Italy by South Florida sculptor Nelda Comas.

It’s expected to be completed in 2020.

The cost of constructing the new statue was paid for by Bethune-Cookman University, which raised $400,000 to foot the bill.

Moving expenses for the general will be covered by Lake County.