A Miami Beach resident was visited by the police at her home over a Facebook post criticizing the city's mayor, Steven Meiner, for his support of Israel.
Raquel Pacheco posted about Meiner's hypocrisy on January 7, pointing out that he consistently calls for the death of all Palestinians while claiming to be a supporter of peace and tolerance. She made this claim in response to a post by Meiner, who called New York City out for alleged antisemitism after Mayor Zohran Mamdani rescinded his predecessor's controversial executive orders on Israel.
Two detectives with the Miami Beach Police Department knocked on Pacheco's door, saying they wanted to discuss her post and prevent any potential agitation. They read aloud from her statement and questioned whether she was the author of the post, even though she denied confirming it.
Pacheco had previously criticized Meiner as a candidate for office, accusing him of using his power to silence pro-Palestine voices in Miami Beach.
This incident has sparked criticism from civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida, who say that Pacheco was exercising her right to free speech and that the police overstepped their bounds.
In response to the backlash, Miami Beach Police Chief Wayne A. Jones took responsibility for sending the detectives to Pacheco's home, saying they were trying to prevent potential incitement or threats against Meiner or the community.
Pacheco believes the incident demonstrates the city's failure to protect its citizens from government overreach and has vowed that such an action will not be tolerated again.
Raquel Pacheco posted about Meiner's hypocrisy on January 7, pointing out that he consistently calls for the death of all Palestinians while claiming to be a supporter of peace and tolerance. She made this claim in response to a post by Meiner, who called New York City out for alleged antisemitism after Mayor Zohran Mamdani rescinded his predecessor's controversial executive orders on Israel.
Two detectives with the Miami Beach Police Department knocked on Pacheco's door, saying they wanted to discuss her post and prevent any potential agitation. They read aloud from her statement and questioned whether she was the author of the post, even though she denied confirming it.
Pacheco had previously criticized Meiner as a candidate for office, accusing him of using his power to silence pro-Palestine voices in Miami Beach.
This incident has sparked criticism from civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida, who say that Pacheco was exercising her right to free speech and that the police overstepped their bounds.
In response to the backlash, Miami Beach Police Chief Wayne A. Jones took responsibility for sending the detectives to Pacheco's home, saying they were trying to prevent potential incitement or threats against Meiner or the community.
Pacheco believes the incident demonstrates the city's failure to protect its citizens from government overreach and has vowed that such an action will not be tolerated again.
This is a clear case of overreach by our so-called 'protectors' 
. I mean, come on, who does the police think they are? Questioning someone's identity for a post that's just their opinion 
? It's like, chill out, dude 
. I get that Pacheco might have crossed some lines, but shouldn't we be encouraging open dialogue and debate instead of silencing people with force? 
The fact that the police were literally at her doorstep, reading from her post, is just crazy 
. And what's with the whole 'preventing agitation' vibe? Can't we just talk things out without getting the cops involved? 
I'm all for free speech, but let's also make sure we're respecting each other's differences and not trying to stifle them unnecessarily 
.
this is like something out of a dystopian novel where the gov't thinks it can silence ppl for expressing their opinions! 
Raquel Pacheco was just speaking truth to power and what does she get? a knock on her door from 2 detectives who basically said "hey, we know you wrote that post and we're gonna make u regret it" 
it's all about who has the power and control in this situation
but at the same time I'm also thinking about how many others have been silenced or censored by the gov't before Pacheco even wrote that post 
. I mean, if Raquel Pacheco is exercising her right to free speech, then so should Steven Meiner when he says stuff like calling for the death of Palestinians 
.
. We need our governments to protect our freedom of speech, not stomp on it like a red shoe 
. Pacheco was just expressing her opinion and that's what we should be celebrating 
, not policing 
.
. We need to stand up for our right to speak freely without fear of retribution 
this is just ridiculous, someone calls out a politician for being hypocritical and the next thing you know police are knocking on their door 
. what's next? questioning someone for liking a tweet about a social issue? 
I don't get why they had to go all cops-on-her-home and question her about the post. Didn't she say it was her own words?! 
. It's like, hello, she said she wrote it, believe her! 
, but at the same time i think about how important it is for us to speak up when we see something thats not right...like Raquel did in that facebook post 
, it makes you wonder what else they're willin to do to silence ppl who are speakin truth to power 
.
.
. The real question is what kind of message does this send to other free-speech activists? Are we gonna see more 'encounters' like this? It's time for Miami Beach to take a hard look at its approach to speech and assembly 
. i get that Meiner is upset, but the police should've just let her have her opinion without comin at her like that 
, you know? When we could criticize politicians without fear of reprisal or police intervention 
.
. The fact that Pacheco had previously criticized Meiner as a candidate for office only adds fuel to this fire 
.
. We need to stand up for what's right, even if it means challenging those in power 
... it's like they're more interested in protecting the mayor's ego than the community's right to dissent.
... but at what cost to our democracy? aren't we supposed to be able to have tough conversations, even uncomfortable ones?