Southeast
Matt Gaetz survives revenge primary amid Kevin McCarthy feud
![Matt Gaetz survives revenge primary amid Kevin McCarthy feud Matt Gaetz survives revenge primary amid Kevin McCarthy feud](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/RNC-Donald-Trump-Day-3_17.jpg)
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz survived a primary challenge Tuesday backed by his nemesis, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
McCarthy spent $3 million on Aaron Dimmock’s campaign against Gaetz. Dimmock is a former Navy aviator and director of the Missouri Leadership Academy.
Last year, Gaetz led a group of eight Republicans to oust McCarthy from the speakership with the help of Democratic members, spawning a feud between the two.
McCarthy’s attacks on Gaetz stem from a House Ethics Committee investigation into alleged sexual misconduct and drug use. But the allegations aren’t new, and Gaetz had a loyal following in his district, making Tuesday’s result the likely outcome.
KEVIN MCCARTHY SAYS MATT GAETZ SHOULD GET PROFESSIONAL HELP AFTER VIRAL SPAT: ‘HE LOOKS VERY UNHINGED’
Rep. Matt Gaetz, F-Fla., speaks on the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee July 17, 2024. (Reuters/Mike Segar)
As of this summer, Gaetz is still under investigation by the House Ethics Committee. The bipartisan committee, led by Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., issued a statement in June saying that it needs to further review allegations against Gaetz involving sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and accepting improper gifts.
WHY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS DECIDE THEY ‘GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE’
![Gaetz McCarthy](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724297366_86_Matt-Gaetz-survives-revenge-primary-amid-Kevin-McCarthy-feud.jpg)
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy donated $3 million to Gaetz’s rival. (Getty Images)
The committee also accused Gaetz of being uncooperative with its probe and said it had “difficulty in obtaining relevant information” from him.
Gaetz has denied all the allegations.
STRATEGISTS PIN GOP SENATE HOPES ON TRUMP BASE COMING ‘HOME’ AHEAD OF ELECTION
![Gaetz at RNC](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724297366_227_Matt-Gaetz-survives-revenge-primary-amid-Kevin-McCarthy-feud.jpg)
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., appears onstage on the second day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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Southeast
Florida law enforcement makes record number of arrests during human trafficking operation
![Florida law enforcement makes record number of arrests during human trafficking operation Florida law enforcement makes record number of arrests during human trafficking operation](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Operation-Summer-Shield-Inset.jpg)
Florida law enforcement officials arrested 148 people and recovered seven victims during a human trafficking sting called “Operation Summer Shield.”
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said during a press conference Tuesday the goal of the operation was to prevent children from becoming victims of human trafficking during the summer, when they’re out of school and spending more time on the internet.
He said his office wanted to be proactive to ensure the children did not fall victim to human trafficking.
“From April 29, the 102 days during summer until Friday before school started, we really ramped up our efforts to combat human trafficking to assure that no child fell victim to human trafficking operations,” Chronister said.
FLORIDA MAN ALLEGEDLY THROWS SPAGHETTI SAUCE AT HIS MOTHER IN DOMESTIC DISPUTE, HIDES IN BUSHES FROM POLICE
During the first day of the operation, the sheriff’s office said, several records were broken.
“That day, they broke a record for the number of individuals wanting to purchase sex on a single day,” Chronister said. “That was until the second day, when they smashed that record almost an hour before the operation started.”
The operation resulted in 148 arrests for various crimes, with 11 of the suspects being charged with human trafficking.
FLORIDA POLICE CHARGE NORTH CAROLINA MAN WITH MURDER AFTER CRASHING SEMITRUCK INTO TAMPA STRIP CLUB
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister announced that 148 people were arrested during “Operation Summer Shield,” a sting targeting human trafficking operations. (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)
Seven victims were rescued, according to Chronister, two of whom were 17-year-old girls.
Chronister highlighted four of the arrests during the press conference Tuesday, which he said were of the “more egregious offenders.”
One suspect, 33-year-old John Randall Craddock, was arrested after he allegedly sent explicit messages to someone he believed was a 15-year-old girl, but Chronister said the suspect was actually communicating with an undercover detective.
DRONE VIDEO CAPTURES FLORIDA WOMAN’S RESCUE AFTER SHE GOT STUCK IN RISING WATERS DURING DEBBY AFTERMATH
![John-Randall-Craddock](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724270963_789_Florida-law-enforcement-makes-record-number-of-arrests-during-human.jpg)
John Randall Craddock was arrested during the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office’s “Operation Summer Shield.” (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)
Devante Kershaw, 28, was arrested during the operation when he, too, allegedly communicated with an undercover detective.
“After attempting to groom our undercover detective for nearly a month, it was time to meet,” Chronister said. “Kershaw was so confident that he met with our undercover detective for more than an hour, and our human trafficking squad closed the deal with a solid arrest and a RICO charge, amongst others.”
FLORIDA DEPUTIES DIVE INTO LAKE TO SAVE WOMAN TRAPPED IN FULLY SUBMERGED CAR
![Devante-Kershaw](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724270963_523_Florida-law-enforcement-makes-record-number-of-arrests-during-human.jpg)
Devante Kershaw, 28, was arrested during “Operation Summer Shield” in Hillsborough County, Fla. (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)
Deputies arrested 39-year-old Dontae Burton, who allegedly forced a 17-year-old girl to have sex for money. Chronister said Burton would post explicit photos of the victim on adult escort websites, set up dates and collect the money she brought in.
FLORIDA FELON NABBED WITH STOLEN GUN, METH PIPE AT COURTHOUSE: SHERIFF
![Dante-Burton](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724270963_975_Florida-law-enforcement-makes-record-number-of-arrests-during-human.jpg)
Dontae Burton was arrested during the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office’s “Operation Summer Shield.” (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)
The 17-year-old girl, Chronister added, was living at home with her mother, who did not know what was happening.
“This sick scheme went on for about three months until we received a tip, and our human trafficking squad quickly went to work. A federal arrest warrant was issued, and Burton was taken into custody,” the sheriff said.
The fourth suspect Chronister highlighted was 35-year-old Dennis Jose Aguilar-Maroto, who allegedly met his victim when she was just 16 years old at a neighborhood park.
FLORIDA WOMAN WHO CLAIMED SHE WORKED FOR GOD INDICTED FOR AMBUSH MURDER OF DEPUTY
![Dennis-Aguilar-Maroto](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724270963_446_Florida-law-enforcement-makes-record-number-of-arrests-during-human.jpg)
Dennis Aguilar-Maroto was arrested during the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office’s “Operation Summer Shield.” (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)
Aguilar-Maroto allegedly groomed the teenager for months before paying her between $40 and $60 for sex acts when she turned 18, authorities said. The sheriff added that the suspect paid the 17-year-old at least four times.
“It was not until our deputies encountered the two at an abandoned restaurant in Brandon that Aguilar-Maroto’s criminal behavior ended,” Chronister said. “While on proactive patrol, deputies found the two in the back seat of a small SUV where they had sex in exchange for money, and Aguilar-Maroto was immediately arrested.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the sheriff’s office for further comment.
Chronister posted to social media that his office’s mission was clear — “to protect our community and hold traffickers accountable.”
“We will not rest until every victim is safe and every trafficker is behind bars,” the sheriff said. “Let me be clear: Traffickers, your days of exploiting innocent people are over in Hillsborough County.”
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Southeast
Alabama sets third execution by nitrogen gas
![Alabama sets third execution by nitrogen gas Alabama sets third execution by nitrogen gas](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/grayson.png)
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey set Nov. 21 as the date for what will be the third death sentence in the country to be carried out by nitrogen gas — and all will have happened in Alabama.
The execution date for Carey Dale Grayson, 49, was scheduled after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled last week that it could be carried out. Grayson was one of four then-teenagers convicted in the 1994 killing of 37-year-old Vickie Deblieux.
In January, Alabama became the first state to use nitrogen gas for an execution when it carried out the death penalty for convicted killer Kenneth Smith, who survived an execution attempt by lethal injection in 2022. The execution method, which has been criticized as being inhumane and a form of torture, killed Smith after he appeared to shake and writhe on the gurney, sometimes pulling against the restraints before several minutes of heavy breathing until breathing was no longer perceptible.
INDIANA SEEKS TO CARRY OUT FIRST EXECUTION IN 15 YEARS AFTER OBTAINING LETHAL INJECTION DRUG
Carey Dale Grayson, 49, is scheduled to be executed by nitrogen gas on Nov. 21. (Alabama Department of Corrections via AP)
Smith’s execution was the first time that a new execution method had been used in the U.S. since lethal injection, which is now the most commonly used form of capital punishment, was introduced in 1982.
A second execution using nitrogen gas for Alan Eugene Miller, who also survived an execution attempt by lethal injection in 2022, is scheduled for Sept. 26. Miller reached a “confidential settlement agreement” with the state earlier this month to end his lawsuit over the specifics of the nitrogen gas protocol.
Grayson has an ongoing lawsuit seeking to block the state from using the same protocol that was used to execute Smith, with his attorneys arguing the method causes unconstitutional levels of pain and that Smith displayed signs of “conscious suffocation.”
Matt Schulz, an assistant federal defender representing Grayson, said last week he and his client are disappointed the execution was authorized before the federal courts had a chance to review Grayson’s challenge to the constitutionality of Alabama’s current nitrogen protocol.
WHITE HOUSE SAYS IT IS ‘DEEPLY TROUBLED’ BY ALABAMA’S EXECUTION OF MAN USING NITROGEN GAS
![Gurney used in execution](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Alabama-sets-third-execution-by-nitrogen-gas.jpg)
Alabama became the first state to use nitrogen gas for an execution earlier this year. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
Grayson was charged with torturing and killing Deblieux on Feb. 21, 1994, as she was hitchhiking from Tennessee to her mother’s home in Louisiana. Four teenagers, including Grayson, offered her a ride and took her to a wooded area where they attacked and beat her before throwing her off a cliff, according to prosecutors, who said the teenagers later mutilated her body.
Three of the teenagers — Grayson, Kenny Loggins and Trace Duncan — were all convicted and sentenced to death. Loggins and Duncan, who were under 18 at the time of the crime, had their death sentences set aside after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that offenders who were younger than 18 at the time of the crime cannot be executed. Grayson was unable to escape the death penalty after the ruling since he was 19 when the crime was committed.
The fourth teenager was sentenced to life imprisonment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Southeast
What is 'smurfing'? What every American needs to know about illegal money in elections
![What is 'smurfing'? What every American needs to know about illegal money in elections What is 'smurfing'? What every American needs to know about illegal money in elections](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/MONEY.jpg)
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Allegations have been raised by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Republican Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (among others) that millions of dollars may be being funneled into candidate campaign coffers through a process known as “smurfing.” We’re not talking about donations being made by small, blue comic-book characters—although we might as well be if the allegations are true.
What is campaign finance smurfing? It is a form of money laundering for campaign contributions. It involves breaking up large-scale donations in a way that disguises who the money is actually coming from, so the contribution limits on how much money can be donated to a particular candidate can be skirted. It may involve widespread mail and wire fraud and the fraudulent use of the identities of unwitting members of the public to violate federal and state campaign finance laws.
Several important rules apply to the funding of congressional and presidential campaigns under the Federal Election Campaign Act or FECA.
HOUSE GOP DEMANDS FEC PROBE ‘POTENTIALLY ILLEGAL’ ACTBLUE FUNDRAISING AS DEM PLATFORM HAULS HARRIS MILLIONS
First, federal law strictly prohibits corporations and unions from making any direct contributions to federal candidates. Second, the FECA bans foreign nationals foreign nationals from making contributions. Only U.S. citizens and permanent resident aliens can give money to the campaigns of individuals running for Congress and the presidency (as well as state and local offices).
Third, federal law limits the amount that an individual can contribute to a candidate. In the current 2023-24 election cycle, individuals cannot contribute more than $3,300 for the primary election and the same amount for the general election. Other limits apply for contributions to PACs and party organizations.
The Federal Election Commission, where I once served as a commissioner, has civil enforcement authority for FECA violations, while the U.S. Justice Department has criminal enforcement authority for intentional and knowing violations of the law. For an example of a criminal violation relevant to smurfing, consider a case I saw when I was a commissioner.
The senior partner of a law firm told his employees that if they made the maximum contribution to a presidential candidate, he would reimburse them. This is called a conduit contribution and was an attempt to get around the contribution limit by the lawyer – making a campaign contribution in the name of another person is illegal.
‘SERIOUS LOOPHOLE’: GOP WIDENS PROBE INTO ACTBLUE, DEM FUNDRAISING PLATFORM HELPING HARRIS RAISE MILLIONS
One of the clues for the Justice Department was that the law firm staff had never made political contributions before. Yet they were all suddenly giving the maximum amount despite their much lower salaries than the firm’s senior partner.
So how does all of this apply to smurfing? Assume that an unknown perpetrator deposits a large sum of money into a bank account. He ties it to a corporate payment credit-card system, which is often used by companies to generate unique credit-card account numbers for their employees to use for transactions. He then generates credit-card account numbers for members of the public without their knowledge and uses those individuals as straw donors to make political contributions, perhaps through an aggregator like ActBlue, a Democratic fundraising website.
Where does this criminal get the names and addresses? There are all sorts of potential sources, including the lists of reported donors to campaigns listed on the FEC’s website. He can then generate thousands of donations, mostly small ones to avoid raising any red flags, to multiple candidates, using real names and addresses of individuals without their knowledge.
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Miyares’s letter to ActBlue claims that “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in contributions have been made through ActBlue in Virginia “that are facially implausible and appear suspicious.” “Virginia donors,” says Miyares, “are reported as making multiple daily contributions…amounting to tens of thousands of dollars in aggregate.” Yet many list their occupation as “not employed” or “retired,” and circumstances make it appear as if they “are being made from fictional donors or dummy accounts” and “without the reported donors’ consent or awareness.”
Sen. Rubio has also questioned these transactions in a complaint letter to the FEC; specifically, the fact that ActBlue does not “require CVV numbers as part of making an online transaction.” CVV numbers are the three-digit “card verification value” numbers we all have on the back side of our credit cards that are used to verify the legitimacy of credit-card transactions. Rubio says that not requiring a CVV number amounts to “an intentional lack of security engrained within” ActBlue’s donation process.
ActBlue has strenuously denied these charges both in a response to an investigation by the U.S. House Committee on Administration and to Jason Miyares, who ActBlue says is engaging is “a partisan attack and scare tactic” intended to undermine “small-dollar” Democrat donors.
The only way to get to the truth is for these questionable donations to be investigated. That means both the FEC and the Justice Department – and state attorneys general under applicable state fraud laws – need to get busy, including talking to the donors listed in the filed reports to see if they actually made these donations and were not barred from making them.
All of these law-enforcement agencies have an obligation to determine if there are “Smurfs” out there using money laundering to illegally interfere in our elections.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM HANS VON SPAKOVSKY
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