Nate Monroe

'Constitutional trainwreck': Florida lawmakers seek surveillance crackdown The legislation, which has come under fierce criticism from civil-rights and free speech advocates, represents another expansion of Florida’s security apparatus under Gov. Ron DeSantis.

New @thefloridatrib.bsky.social | Under Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida has spent three-quarters of a billion dollars creating a kind of parallel national security apparatus. A controversial series of surveillance and domestic terrorist bills will add to that accounting.

floridatrib.org/2026/03/03/c...

'Constitutional trainwreck': Florida lawmakers seek surveillance crackdown The legislation, which has come under fierce criticism from civil-rights and free speech advocates, represents another expansion of Florida’s security apparatus under Gov. Ron DeSantis.

NEW: A package of bills advancing through the Florida Legislature would empower the governor and Cabinet to designate groups as “domestic terrorist organizations” based on secret evidence.

floridatrib.org/2026/03/03/c...

'Constitutional trainwreck': Florida lawmakers seek surveillance crackdown The legislation, which has come under fierce criticism from civil-rights and free speech advocates, represents another expansion of Florida’s security apparatus under Gov. Ron DeSantis.

New @thefloridatrib.bsky.social | Under Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida has spent three-quarters of a billion dollars creating a kind of parallel national security apparatus. A controversial series of surveillance and domestic terrorist bills will add to that accounting.

floridatrib.org/2026/03/03/c...

New records show Florida officials burned more than $1.2 million per day on 'Alligator Alcatraz' Last August, the Florida Division of Emergency Management requested a $1.49 billion grant from the federal government, underscoring the staggering scale of spending of taxpayer dollars on federal immi...

New records show #Florida Gov. Ron DeSastrous burned thru more than $1 million a day on his Everglades concentration camp floridatrib.org/2026/03/01/n...

New records show Florida officials burned more than $1.2 million per day on 'Alligator Alcatraz' Last August, the Florida Division of Emergency Management requested a $1.49 billion grant from the federal government, underscoring the staggering scale of spending of taxpayer dollars on federal immi...

New records obtained by @thefloridatrib.bsky.social show Florida officials burned more than $1.2 million per day on ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ - sometimes substantially more - and originally sought $1.4 billion from the feds.

floridatrib.org/2026/03/01/n...

Florida continues its execution spree despite problematic track record Florida's execution spree came even as its lethal injection protocol has come under scrutiny, prompting fears that those executed are at risk of complications and needless suffering.

New @thefloridatrib.bsky.social, published in partnership with @motherjones.com | Signs of suffering in Florida’s executions have not deterred Gov. Ron DeSantis from writing a record number of death warrants

floridatrib.org/2026/02/27/f...

At trial, a federal judge lambasted Florida's claimed evidence of high rates of invalid petitions as "beyond junk science."

A long look at the rise and fall of Floridians' right to change their constitution from our statehouse reporter, Kate Payne.

As UF considers buzz sawing 1,000 trees, critics feel stumped, muted The University of Florida is planning to demolish an on-campus conservation area known as Graham Woods — a project that would chop down roughly 1,000 trees in a mini-forest favored by nature lovers an...

As U of #Florida considers buzz sawing 1,000 trees, critics feel stumped & muted floridatrib.org/2026/02/23/t...

As UF considers buzz sawing 1,000 trees, critics feel stumped, muted The University of Florida is planning to demolish an on-campus conservation area known as Graham Woods — a project that would chop down roughly 1,000 trees in a mini-forest favored by nature lovers an...

New | UF forced critics of a plan to buzzsaw 1,000 trees to report in person to a room under the football stadium, even though the meeting was virtual - the latest in a series of important higher-ed decisions being made with increasing secrecy.

floridatrib.org/2026/02/23/t...

DeSantis spent $573 million on immigration. The feds may never pay Florida back Months after federal officials publicly committed to awarding Florida more than half a billion dollars to cover immigration enforcement costs, attorneys for the federal government appear to be backtra...

"So far, DeSantis’ administration has spent at least $573 million for immigration efforts over the past three years, including at the Everglades facility..."

...and the federal grant money to reimburse the state is being held up.

The latest from the @thefloridatrib.bsky.social...

The Trump administration’s policies are disrupting and dividing communities. We visit three of them. From farm country to cities and even Native American reservations, communities are being shaped (and divided) by Trump administration policies.

I’m proud of this collaboration between @thefloridatrib.bsky.social and @revealnews.org, and especially our reporter, Trinity Webster-Bass.

revealnews.org/podcast/loca...

The ‘virtually impossible’ path for citizens’ ballot initiatives in Florida New ballot initiative restrictions, approved by the Florida Legislature and enforced by state officials, are so strict that advocates say they make the process effectively impossible for grassroots ca...

A campaign that could extend health care coverage to an estimated half a million Floridians has been suspended, and a push to legalize adult use of marijuana may unravel before it ever reaches the ballot.

NEW from Florida Trib reporter Kate Payne:

floridatrib.org/2026/01/30/t...

Before ascending to Florida Supreme Court, judge backed DeSantis’ redistricting push First District Court of Appeal Judge Adam Tanenbaum would be a critical ally to DeSantis on a high court that the governor has already shaped significantly.

DeSantis appoints a new supreme court justice in Florida — a reliable conservative who, in a lower court, sided with him in the most fight over gerrymandering. jaxtrib.org/2026/01/15/b...

Before ascending to Florida Supreme Court, judge backed DeSantis’ redistricting push First District Court of Appeal Judge Adam Tanenbaum would be a critical ally to DeSantis on a high court that the governor has already shaped significantly.

First District Court of Appeal Judge Adam Tanenbaum's appointment comes as the governor and Legislature are again considering congressional redistricting, which typically only happens every 10 years, following the completion of the U.S. Census.

jaxtrib.org/2026/01/15/b...

Before ascending to Florida Supreme Court, judge backed DeSantis’ redistricting push First District Court of Appeal Judge Adam Tanenbaum would be a critical ally to DeSantis on a high court that the governor has already shaped significantly.

New | DeSantis’ new appointee to the Florida Supreme Court co-authored a key decision allowing the governor to redraw the state’s congressional maps, which dismantled a majority-Black district in North Florida and helped flip control of the U.S. House to the Republicans. jaxtrib.org/2026/01/15/b...

Ended weirdly but two decades without a losing season is such an unreal stat

One million Floridians won’t have full representation for high-stakes legislative session The diminished representation comes at a time when lawmakers are expected to weigh sweeping measures to redraw the state’s congressional voting maps and drastically reduce local property tax revenues.

New | One million Floridians won’t have full representation for the high-stakes legislative session that begins Tuesday, during which lawmakers are expected to weigh sweeping proposals redrawing the state’s congressional voting districts and reducing local tax revenue.

jaxtrib.org/2026/01/12/o...

One million Floridians won’t have full representation for high-stakes legislative session The diminished representation comes at a time when lawmakers are expected to weigh sweeping measures to redraw the state’s congressional voting maps and drastically reduce local property tax revenues.

New | One million Floridians won’t have full representation for the high-stakes legislative session that begins Tuesday, during which lawmakers are expected to weigh sweeping proposals redrawing the state’s congressional voting districts and reducing local tax revenue.

jaxtrib.org/2026/01/12/o...

Joshes Allen like Attorneys General

“Frank Gore Jr.” is the one NFL player son that doesn’t make you feel old because Frank Gore Sr.’s NFL career was long enough that by the end you were like “yeah it makes sense that he has an adult son”

UWF OKs DeSantis favorite Manny Diaz Jr. as president, with $946K pay package Diaz has limited education experience but was approved in a single-candidate competition – despite rules intended to normally require “more than two” finalists for the trustees to consider.

New | The UWF board of trustees named Manny Diaz Jr. the school’s permanent leader, providing him a premium salary and a degree of job protection not provided to even the leader of Florida’s preeminent university, the University of Florida.

jaxtrib.org/2026/01/08/u...

UWF OKs DeSantis favorite Manny Diaz Jr. as president, with $946K pay package Diaz has limited education experience but was approved in a single-candidate competition – despite rules intended to normally require “more than two” finalists for the trustees to consider.

New | The UWF board of trustees named Manny Diaz Jr. the school’s permanent leader, providing him a premium salary and a degree of job protection not provided to even the leader of Florida’s preeminent university, the University of Florida.

jaxtrib.org/2026/01/08/u...

This bill – which would let owners of large tracts of rural land get their properties rezoned for commercial development without any local public hearing or vote – will get its first hearing in the Florida Senate on Tuesday.

With army of loyalists, DeSantis built a conservative higher-ed empire With an ally expected to take over at UWF early this year, and a presidential vacancy at UNF, DeSantis is poised to build on his remarkable transformation of Florida higher education.

On college campuses across Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to expand his army of political loyalists — both college presidents and university trustees, who are poised to dominate for many years to come, no matter who is elected governor in 2026.

jaxtrib.org/2026/01/07/w...

With army of loyalists, DeSantis built a conservative higher-ed empire With an ally expected to take over at UWF early this year, and a presidential vacancy at UNF, DeSantis is poised to build on his remarkable transformation of Florida higher education.

New | DeSantis continues to expand his army of political loyalists — college presidents and university trustees, who are poised to dominate for many years to come, no matter who becomes governor in 2026.

As a result, higher education could become his enduring legacy

jaxtrib.org/2026/01/07/w...

A New York investment firm with vast land holdings across north Florida wants state lawmakers to greenlight giant developments Companies linked to investment firm Ruane Cunniff have assembled more than 80,000 acres from Jacksonville to Panama City. The firm is now lobbying to make it easier to develop all that land.

New: Companies linked to a multibillion-dollar investment firm in New York have amassed more than 80,000 acres of land across north Florida – and are now lobbying Florida lawmakers to make it much easier to develop all that land:

jasongarcia.substack.com/p/a-new-york...

With army of loyalists, DeSantis built a conservative higher-ed empire With an ally expected to take over at UWF early this year, and a presidential vacancy at UNF, DeSantis is poised to build on his remarkable transformation of Florida higher education.

New | DeSantis continues to expand his army of political loyalists — college presidents and university trustees, who are poised to dominate for many years to come, no matter who becomes governor in 2026.

As a result, higher education could become his enduring legacy

jaxtrib.org/2026/01/07/w...

“What comes hard is hope.”

I will never ever stop recommending this 2021 @natemonroe.bsky.social article on @bigcatcountry.bsky.social. Ever.

www.bigcatcountry.com/2021/4/30/22...

State began, then halted, probe into murder conviction that relied on a known liar's testimony The aborted review demonstrates the limitations of a unit set up to fanfare, the first of its kind in Florida, to seek justice for the wrongly accused

NEW: Ronnie Ferrell, 1 of 3 men convicted in the 1991 murder of Gino Mayhew, wrote a letter to the State Attorney saying he was wrongfully convicted.

Melissa Nelson's office began a review into Ferrell's case, which was then abruptly stopped.

We asked why:

jaxtrib.org/2025/12/31/s...

The 'hanging judge': Legacy of Jim Crow looms over Jacksonville Death Row case An examination by The Tributary shows that Judge Hudson Olliff possessed retrograde views on race that were an open secret in Jacksonville's legal community but less understood by the general public.

New from @jaxtrib.org’s ‘Cold-Blooded’ series | The ‘hanging judge’: Legacy of Jim Crow looms over Jacksonville Death Row case

jaxtrib.org/2025/12/22/t...