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Sheriff’s Deputy With an AR-15 Rescues Girl Trapped in Tree by 9-Foot Alligator

By The Blaze. A 15-year-old Florida girl found herself hanging on to a tree for her life Friday afternoon as a large and aggressive alligator waited, hissing just feet below her, according to the Washington Post.

The girl, Jordan Broderick, clung to a tree branch nearly to the point of exhaustion until a sheriff’s deputy showed up and made quick work of the gator, saving the girl’s life.

Before the officer arrived, however, there was a half an hour of panic as Broderick’s family feared for her life and frantically communicated with 911 dispatch. . .

Finally, Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Mitch Blackmon was the first to arrive on the scene. When he got there, he knew exactly what to do.

“I fired one single .223 round from my Bushmaster AR-15, killing the alligator,” Blackmon wrote on the incident report. (Read more from “Sheriff’s Deputy With an Ar-15 Rescues Girl Trapped in Tree by 9-Foot Alligator” HERE)

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An Alligator Trapped a Teenage Girl in a Tree. Then a Deputy Arrived With an Ar-15.

By Washington Post. . . One gator in particular — a nine-foot specimen — cut a path toward the girl floating on a raft in the Ocala National Forest in central Florida on Friday afternoon.

She thought fast, scurrying up a tree branch hanging over the water. The alligator hissed and waited at the base of the tree. . .

Jordan, her mother and the dispatcher may not have known what the alligators are coded with instinct to know. July marks the end of mating season, when the reptiles are particularly aggressive and territorial, Miami-Dade Zoological Park and Gardens spokesman Ron Magill told The Post. . .

By the time Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Mitch Blackmon arrived, ahead of the marine unit, Jordan had been in the tree for about 30 minutes. She was screaming and exhausted from hanging on, according to the incident report. (Read more from “An Alligator Trapped a Teenage Girl in a Tree. Then a Deputy Arrived With an Ar-15.” HERE)

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FL Senate: Yes, Democrat Bill Nelson Could Be in Deep, DEEP Trouble

In the Sunshine State, Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, is banking on incumbency and gun control to get him over the top. He’s been lucky throughout his Senate career in facing opponents who haven’t been the best, especially during his 2000 re-election campaign. This year is different—and he knew it. Last year, Politico reported that Nelson met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats ahead what will be a true contest. He’ll be fighting for his political life and he needs money. Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who is term-limited, has tossed his hat into the ring. Despite his recent betrayal of Second Amendment rights by signing an appalling law that increased the age of gun purchases to 21, he’s a solid candidate. Independently wealthy, he can fund his own race. He’s also proving himself to be an adept campaigner, hitting Hispanic outreach hard, which is making Democratic activists very nervous. Another startling sign: only 49 percent know who the hell Nelson is in the state. Not a good sign for a three-term incumbent (via Politico):

Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s Senate campaign has a Spanish-language web page. Sen. Bill Nelson’s doesn’t.

Scott is advertising in Spanish. Nelson isn’t. . .

For Democrats who recognize protecting Nelson’s seat is essential to their hopes of winning a Senate majority this fall, the veteran senator’s lackluster outreach to one of the fastest-growing voting blocs in the nation’s largest swing state is causing alarm.

The depth of Nelson’s troubles — and Scott’s advantage — came into sharp focus last month in four focus groups conducted in Central Florida’s influential Puerto Rican community, where few knew who Nelson was, despite his three Senate terms and holding elected Florida office for 41 years.

(Read more from “FL Senate: Yes, Democrat Bill Nelson Could Be in Deep, Deep Trouble” HERE)

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Confusion When Florida City Warns Residents of a ‘Zombie Invasion’ After System Hack

As if things aren’t strange enough already in this country, Lake Worth, Fla., residents received a cellphone alert from the city about a power outage and were also warned to look out for zombies — yes, as in the walking dead.

Officials are not entirely sure, but it appears someone made a humorous, albeit ill-advised edit to the city’s power outage notification system, according to WPTV News. The notice sent out read: “There are now far less than seven thousand three hundred and eighty customers involved due to extreme zombie activity. Restoration time uncertain.”

Lake Worth spokesman Ben Kerr told the Palm Beach Post the city is looking into the notice sent out Monday morning around 1:45 a.m. that warned of a “zombie alert for residents of Lake Worth and Terminus.” . . .

Push notifications from government officials are becoming common, but hacks and other mistakes can have significant impact, as seen in Hawaii in January, when an errant message warn residents of an imminent ballistic-missle threat. . .

Springettsbury Township Police Department took to Facebook to have a little fun after a traffic board was hacked, assuring residents that the city is zombie-free. (Read more from “Confusion When Florida City Warns Residents of a ‘Zombie Invasion’ After System Hack” HERE)

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Dead Victim’s Family Horrified over Smiling Suspect’s Mugshot

Angenette Welk of Ocala, Florida, hit the news this week not because of the crime she committed, but the image she portrayed in her mugshot.

Just before midnight on May 10, Welk failed to hit her brakes when approaching stopped vehicles in front of her on U.S. Highway 27, crashing into two cars. She rear-ended the Hyundai Elantra driven by 18-year-old Shiyanne Kroll with enough force to cause fatal injuries to Kroll’s passenger, Sandra Clarkson. . .

Welk faces charges of DUI, DUI with property damage and DUI with great bodily harm. Upon news of the death of Clarkson, Florida Highway Patrol officials are seeking an upgraded charge of DUI manslaughter.

Keonna Sciacca, Clarkson’s other daughter, said of the tragedy, “It’s definitely wrecked our family forever, not just temporarily, this was a permanent thing that (Welk) did. (I’m) trying to cope with the fact that I won’t see (my mom) walk again, she won’t be home when I get home from work or in the mornings when I get home from work.”

After seeing Welk’s mugshot, Kroll added, “That disgusts me and that means she has no remorse for what she did at all and I hope that judge sees that picture and says the same thing.” (Read more from “Dead Victim’s Family Horrified over Smiling Suspect’s Mugshot” HERE)

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Psycho Judge Resigns After Viciously Berating Sick Woman Begging for Help Who Died Three Days Later

By Bizpac Review. A Florida circuit court judge’s roughly 30-year-long career deservedly crashed and burned this week after courtroom footage surfaced that shows her mercilessly and unnecessarily berating a disabled defendant. And not just any disabled defendant, but one who died three days later.

Recorded last Sunday, the footage shows former Broward County Circuit Judge Merrillee Ehrlich, a Democrat, spouting an endless stream of bilge at Sandra Faye Twiggs, 59, a wheel-chair-bound woman who suffered from asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Why all the venom? Because Twiggs needed help, according to the Miami Herald, but every time she tried to speak, Ehrlich shut her down.

The paper notes that Twiggs wound up in jail after she got into a domestic dispute with her daughter. During her incarceration, Twiggs reportedly had difficulty obtaining her medications.

When she tried to inform Ehrlich of this problem during her court appearance, the judge snapped at her, saying, “Ma’am, I am not here to talk to you about your breathing treatments!” (Read more from “Psycho Judge Resigns After Viciously Berating Sick Woman Begging for Help Who Died Three Days Later” HERE)

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Watch This Judge Brutally Berate a Woman in a Wheelchair. The Woman Died. The Judge Has Quit.

By The Miami Herald. A Broward County circuit judge delivered a blistering, arm-waving, face-palming, tongue-lashing to a frail, out-of-breath woman — pushed into court in a wheelchair — who was facing misdemeanor charges following a family feud.

Three days later, the defendant died.

Judge Merrillee Ehrlich has resigned, although it is unclear when that resignation was provided and when it becomes effective . . .

“It is not appropriate for anyone to endure that kind of treatment,” said Finkelstein’s chief assistant, Gordon Weekes. “All that was required was a bit of patience, and a bit of respect to allow this lady to speak, to gather herself and to breathe.” . . .

Twiggs suffered from asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, also called COPD. She ended up under arrest after squabbling with her 19-year-old daughter. (Read more from “Watch This Judge Brutally Berate a Woman in a Wheelchair. The Woman Died. The Judge Has Quit.” HERE)

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SICK: ‘Crazed Girls’ Are Flooding the Parkland Shooter With Fan Mail

By The Daily Wire. The Parkland, Florida mass shooter is receiving “stacks of fan mail and love letters” from “crazed girls,” grown women and “even some men,” the Florida Sun-Sentinel reports, and has now received hundreds of dollars in unsolicited contributions to help fund his prison needs.

Even creepier than the mere fact that the shooter is receiving fan mail is, apparently, the letters’ contents. Deputies at the Broward County jail, where the shooter is being held pending trial, report that he receives “cute greeting cards,” “notes of friendship and encouragement,” and plenty of lewd photos.

Some of the letters are part of coordinated letter-writing campaigns, organized on “groupie” Facebook pages dedicated to the shooter, which also sell bracelets and t-shirts members can wear to express their public support.

“I’m 18-years-old. I’m a senior in high school. When I saw your picture on the television, something attracted me to you,” read one of the letters, according to the Sun-Sentinel, which was allowed to view select pieces of the shooter’s mail. “Your eyes are beautiful and the freckles on your face make you so handsome. …I’m really skinny and have 34C sized breasts.” (Read more from “SICK: ‘Crazed Girls’ Are Flooding the Parkland Shooter With Fan Mail” HERE)

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Parkland School Shooter’s Brother Agrees to Plea Deal on Trespassing Charge

By ABC Local 10. The brother of the Parkland school shooter has been released from jail after agreeing to a plea deal on a trespassing charge.

Zachary Cruz pleaded no contest Thursday during a hearing in which his attorneys prepared to argue that his $500,000 bond amount was excessive.

“The defendant is to be adjudicated guilty of the offense and be placed on six months of probation,” prosecutor Sarahnell Murphy said in announcing the terms of the plea deal.

Broward County Judge Melinda Kirsch Brown also ordered that Cruz enroll in therapy, wear a GPS monitor and said he cannot possess firearms or ammunition.

“You’re never to return to Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland,” the judge told Cruz. (Read more from “Parkland School Shooter’s Brother Agrees to Plea Deal on Trespassing Charge” HERE)

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Mass Shooter’s Father Was FBI Informant

By Bizpac Review. Mateen killed 49 people at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Fla., in 2016, and his wife in now on trial, accused of aiding the gunman in the attack — the case has garnered little interest from the left because details fail to support the established narrative that the LGBT community was targeted.

The motion was filed by lawyers representing Mateen’s widow, Noor Salman, and it states that they were contacted on Saturday by prosecutors, who told them Mateen’s father, Seddique Mateen, was an FBI source from 2005 to June 2016, CNN reported.

The elder Mateen is being investigated for money transfers between March 16, 2016, and June 5, 2016, to Turkey and Afghanistan, according to the network. Evidence was discovered in his home the day of the Pulse attack . . .

The defense also said Seddique’s FBI connection was a factor in a 2013 investigation into Omar Mateen for allegedly threatening coworkers.

The motion stated: “Mateen’s father played a significant role in the FBI’s decision not to seek an indictment from the Justice Department for false statements to the FBI or obstruction of justice against Omar Mateen.” (Read more from “Mass Shooter’s Father Was FBI Informant” HERE)

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Judge Denies Motion to Drop Case Against Widow of Pulse Gunman

By CNN. A judge has denied a motion for dismissal by lawyers for the widow of the Pulse gunman after they said new details from prosecutors reveal the shooter’s father was an FBI informant who is currently under a criminal investigation.

The judge said the fact that Omar Mateen’s father worked as an FBI informant was not relevant to the case against Noor Salman.

According to a motion filed by the defense, Assistant US Attorney Sara Sweeney sent an email to the defense on Saturday — in the middle of Salman’s trial — that stated Seddique Mateen was a confidential FBI source at various points in time between January 2005 through June 2016.

The email also stated that Seddique Mateen is being investigated for money transfers to Turkey and Afghanistan after documents were found in his home on June 12, 2016, the day of the Pulse attack. The dates of the money transfers were between March 16, 2016, and June 5, 2016, according to the email. (Read more from “Judge Denies Motion to Drop Case Against Widow of Pulse Gunman” HERE)

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Police Seize First Firearms Under Florida’s New Gun Control Laws

A Broward County judge on Friday issued what is thought to be Florida’s first order temporarily removing guns from a person under Florida’s new gun-control laws.

Four firearms and 267 rounds of ammunition were ordered removed from a 56-year-old Lighthouse Point man who experts determined was a potential risk to himself or others.

The guns and ammunition have been temporarily removed from the man under the state’s new “risk protection” law, which is also sometimes called “red flag” legislation, Lighthouse Point City Attorney Michael Cirullo confirmed.

Although the man was also taken to a hospital for involuntary psychiatric treatment under the state’s Baker Act, the civil ruling removing his access to guns and ammunition was granted under the new legislation, which permits removal of guns from people who have not been committed but are deemed a potential risk to themselves or others, according to the order signed by Broward’s Chief Judge Jack Tuter.

“We know it’s the first case of its kind in Broward County and we think it’s the first one in Florida, under the new law,” Cirullo said. “Up until the introduction of this law last week, there was no process for us to protect the public in this kind of situation.” (Read more from “Police Seize First Firearms Under Florida’s New Gun Control Laws” HERE)

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Surveillance Video Released of Parkland Shooting—Does Not Show Shooter

More than 27 minutes of surveillance footage has been released from security cameras at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, for the purpose of showing former deputy Scot Peterson standing outside of the building, while students and teachers were murdered inside.

In response to the actions of the armed school resource officer, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said the footage “speaks for itself.”

“His actions were enough to warrant an internal affairs investigation, as requested by Sheriff Scott Israel on Feb. 21. After being suspended without pay, Peterson chose to resign and immediately retired rather than face possible termination,” a statement from the department noted.

According to the time stamp on the video, the footage begins at 2:22 p.m. on Feb. 14, less than one minute before police claim that suspect Nickolas Cruz opened fire inside the freshman building.

In the video, Peterson can be seen running towards a golf cart at about the same time the first 911 call was made to Coral Springs Police reporting a shooting. He then runs to another side of the building, and the surveillance footage changes to a different angle of the building.

It was during that time that Peterson reportedly said over his police radio, “Be advised we have possible, could be firecrackers, I think we have shots fired, possible shots fired—1200 building.”

According to a timeline of the shooting from the Sun Sentinel, Cruz was picked up by an Uber at 2:06 p.m. and dropped off at the school at 2:19 p.m. He then entered the freshman building at 2:21 p.m.

The shooting reportedly lasted 7 minutes, which included enough time for a freshman student named Chris McKenna to find Cruz loading his rifle, and then to flee to get help when Cruz told him, “things are gonna start getting messy.”

The school confirmed that Cruz exited the building at 2:28 p.m. and blended in with other students who were fleeing campus. A teacher at the school who witnessed the shooting said she initially thought the shooter was a police officer because he was dressed in full body armor, and was carrying a rifle she had never seen before.

Given that he may have set off more warning signs if he had been fully clothed in body armor when he was riding in an Uber or entering the school, the timeline gives Cruz just 7 minutes to load his rifle, put on his body armor, shoot 31 people, discard the gun and the body armor and then exit the building.

The surveillance footage released by the Broward County Sheriff’s office ends at 2:50 p.m., and while it does show some students walking by as they exit the building, it fails to show Cruz entering or exiting—details that would arguably help to put the public’s mind at ease.

As The Free Thought Project has reported, it has been one month since the shooting occurred, and even though 17 innocent people were killed, the surveillance footage that has just been released serves as a reminder that some of the most glaring questions and inconsistencies are the ones that both law enforcement and the mainstream media refuse to address.

What the release of this footage highlights is the insulting attempt to appease the public and media’s demands for actual video that shows the actual crime. Until this is released, authorities in Florida are doing an injustice the victims and their families alike.

(For more from the author of “Surveillance Video Released of Parkland Shooting—Does Not Show Shooter” please click HERE)

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Death-Trap Funded by Obama Program

. . .On Twitter, President Trump is being blamed for wanting to build a wall while “our infrastructures are falling apart, for going out of his way to loosen building regulations and passing a tax-cut bill instead of doing “some REAL work for the country.”

While it’s too early to determine the precise causes of the tragic accident, which killed at least six people, Reason magazine assistant editor Christian Britschgi points out in a column Friday that, if anything, President Obama’s fingerprints are on it.

Installed only last Saturday, the bridge, he writes, was funded with $11.4 million from a federal grant program that has been criticized for a shoddy review process that puts politics ahead of technical and safety concerns.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER program, was created as an economic stimulus measure under Obama and morphed into a permanent program, wrote Britschgi.

Florida International University received the money for the bridge in round five, or TIGER V, in 2013. It was among 52 projects that used a methodology that later was criticized by the Government Accountability Office for violating U.S. Department of Transportation standards. (Read more from “Death-Trap Funded by Obama Program” HERE)

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