Florida Republican Scandals | Updated List of GOP Scandals in FL

Scandal Categories
Florida Republican U.S. Congress Member & Candidate Scandals
-
Marco RubioU.S. Senator [R-FL]


6.3m
3/05/22
Broke security protocols by sharing live images of a briefing U.S. Representatives & Senators had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy despite being asked not to share any posts or images until the meeting had concluded

According to reporting by NBC News & other media outlets
-
Augustus Sol InvictusFmr. U.S. Senate Candidate

1/10/25
Lit a fire with the intent of criminally intimidating counter-protesters who were challenging him and his racist companions at the 2017 "Unite the Right Rally"


According to charging documents filed by state officials
-
Matt GaetzTrump AG Nominee

1.8m
12/23/24
Paid more than a dozen women tens of thousands of dollars for sex and left a paper trail by using a mobile cash app to give them the money


According to bombshell report released by the bipartisan House Ethics Committee

11/18/24
Attended numerous alcohol and drug-fueled "sex parties" where he consumed cocaine and other illicit drugs while he was a sitting congressman


According to an attorney representing two women who testified that they attended the parties with Gaetz

11/16/24
Allegedly had sex with an underage 17-year-old girl who had just completed her junior year in high school twice in one night at a party hosted by convicted sex offender Joel Greenberg and then paid her $400 in cash afterwards


According to bombshell report released by the bipartisan House Ethics Committee

2/14/24
Asked a young woman who was getting paid by his best friend Joel Greenberg to have sex with other men to join him for a weekend trip to the Florida Keys where he said there would be "2 guys, 4 girls" and insinuated sex would be involved


According to an exclusive report by ABC News

2/14/24
Had sex with a 21-year-old who was under the influence of "all kinds of controlled substances" at a drug-fueled party she was paid to attend


According to an exclusive report by The Daily Beast

5/14/21
Snorted cocaine with a paid escort he also presumably had sex with inside an Orlando hotel room he paid for with campaign funds


According to two eyewitnesses who spoke exclusively with The Daily Beast

2/18/14
Had a difficult time handing his license and registration to police officers after getting pulled over for speeding, couldn't stand upright without swaying and refused field sobriety and breathalyzer tests upon which he was arrested


According to charging documents filed by local police
-
Will BraddockFmr. U.S. Rep Candidate

9/29/24
Threatened to kill his primary opponent and eventual winner Anna Luna by calling up his "Russian-Ukrainian hit squad" to take her out


According to charging documents filed by federal officials
-

11/02/06
Offered a 17-year-old boy working as a Congressional page oral sex in exchange for free lodgings at his home at the same time he was chair of a special Congressional committee dedicated to protecting exploited children


10/15/06
Asked a 16-year-old male Congressional page to send him photographs of himself and inquired what he could buy him for his birthday over five emails that the page said "really freaked" him out and made him feel "sick"


10/15/06
Had sexual relations with two former male pages and sent dozens of inappropriate and sexually suggestive emails and instant messages to underage male pages over a yearslong period while also having voted in favor of numerous pieces of anti-gay legislation throughout his time in Congress


According to voluminous reports filed by mainstream media outlets

10/04/06
Routinely got drunk and sent sexualized emails and chat messages to underage male Congressional pages over a multiyear period


According to reporting by NBC News & other media outlets
-
David RiveraFmr. U.S. Representative

12/18/24
Formed fake shell companies to conceal the millions of dollars he earned working as an unregistered foreign agent from the IRS

Failed to report hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of taxable income to the government and siphoned even more to himself through a PAC that he earned from working as an unregistered foreign agent and lobbyist for the Venezuelan government


According to charging documents filed by federal officials

4/18/12
Secretly siphoned hundreds of thousands of dollars in unreported campaign donations to his personal accounts and used the money on a myriad of personal expenses including his personal credit card and only escaped charges because he exploited a little-known loophole in Florida's campaign finance laws

According to the Florida State Attorney's office
-
Ross SpanoFmr. U.S. Representative

10/01/20
Attempted to take his loaded concealed handgun onto an airplane at Tampa International Airport, but was stopped by airport security and forced to secure it before being allowed to board his flight


According to an airport spokesperson and reported by mainstream outlets
Florida Republican Executive Branch Scandals
Florida Republican State Legislator Scandals
Florida Republican Finance Official Scandals
-

5/17/21
Paid an underage girl for sexual encounters seven times and introduced her to other men who also engaged in sexual acts with her

He pled guilty to sex trafficking of a minor and was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison

3/31/21
Embezzled $400k in taxpayer money by using a government issued credit card on personal purchases including cryptocurrency and professional sports memorabilia

He pled guilty to a larger package of charges and then cooperated with federal authorities on a larger sex-trafficking investigation

6/23/20
Received over $400k in federal COVID relief by falsely claiming two defunct businesses were still operational

According to charging documents by federal authorities

6/23/20
Maliciously smeared his GOP primary opponent as being a racist child molester through defamatory posts from fake social media accounts he created

According to charging documents filed by federal officials
Florida Republican Mayor Scandals
-
Teresa HeitmannMayor [R-FL]
2k
2k 
8/29/24
Rammed through a mailbox and drove her vehicle onto the lawn of couple she drunkenly tailgated home and was arrested by police after she failed a field sobriety test which wasn't surprising considering she was found to have a BAC over twice the legal limit when she arrived at jail


According to charging documents filed by local police
-
John HammockFmr. Mayor [R-FL]

1/16/22
Choked, kicked, punched and shoved his wife against the wall and then threatened to kill her during a fit of rage which resulted in his jailing and a judge granting an order of protection she filed against him


According to charging documents filed by local police
-
Kevin HohnFmr. Mayor [R-FL]

2/20/21
Produced and distributed over 300 felony images and 40 videos of two underage girls he secretly recorded in various stages of undress with a hidden camera and was also found in possession of over 100,000 images and 1,000 videos depicting children participating in sexual conduct when police arrested him


According to charging documents filed by federal officials
Florida Republican City Official Scandals
-
Peter FilibertoFmr. City Council Member

2/14/23
Attempted to flee from police on his motorcycle but wobbled and fell to the ground before he could get away, refused a field sobriety test, was found to be driving on a suspended license and had 10 grams of cocaine hidden in his shoes


According to charging documents filed by local police
-
Victor BarbosaFmr. City Council Member

3/04/22
Didn't scan an item at two separate self-checkout registers at a local Walmart and claimed it was done "inadvertently" when confronted by store security, but presumably from guilt later resigned from his city council position


According to a report by The Daytona beach News-Journal
Other Florida Republican Scandals