Please leave this field empty. Receiving Medical Attention If someone has been arrested and they are feeling ill, they need to be seen by a doctor. What to Expect in Jail. Practice Areas. Boca Raton. Delray Beach. Prior to serving in Congress, Gaetz was a member of the Florida House of Representatives , representing the state's 4th district, which includes most of Okaloosa County , from to His father Don represented parts of northwest Florida as a member of the Florida State Senate from to and served as Senate president from to Gaetz's grandfather, Jerry Gaetz, was the mayor of Rugby, North Dakota , and a candidate for lieutenant governor of North Dakota at the North Dakota Republican Party state convention, where he died of a heart attack.
After graduating from law school, Gaetz went to work for a law firm in Fort Walton Beach. In March , following the resignation of Republican state representative Ray Sansom on corruption charges in February , [9] Gaetz ran in the special election to succeed Sansom in the 4th District, which included southern Santa Rosa County and Okaloosa County.
Gaetz was unopposed for a full term in He was reelected, unopposed, in [13] and While serving in the state house, Gaetz joined with state senator Joe Negron to propose legislation "designed to accelerate the execution of many of the inmates on Florida's death row" by requiring the governor to sign a death warrant for those inmates who have exhausted their appeals, [15] noting, "Only God can judge. But we can sure set up the meeting.
Following the trial of George Zimmerman for the shooting of Trayvon Martin , Will Weatherford , the speaker of the Florida House of Representatives , announced that he would order hearings on the " stand-your-ground " law that was raised as an issue during the trial. When his subcommittee was considering legislation that would "keep mug shots of people who are charged with crimes off the Internet until they are convicted," Gaetz brought up his arrest and non-conviction , arguing that his mistakes made him who he is and that publicly available mug shots "could be a problem for those unaccustomed to publicity.
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In , Gaetz announced that in he would run for the 1st District state senate seat then held by his father, state senator Don Gaetz , who was due to be term-limited out of the Senate in House seat representing Florida's 1st congressional district ; the incumbent, Jeff Miller , had announced eleven days earlier that he would not seek reelection.
On August 30, , Gaetz won the Republican primary with The 1st District is the most Republican in Florida, and one of the most Republican in the nation. In the November 8, , general election, Gaetz defeated Democratic candidate Steven Specht with 69 percent of the vote. In , Gaetz mentioned to acquaintances that he could run for Senate in Alabama in , a state which borders his district. He later decided against running. Gaetz supports rescheduling cannabis from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug, enabling further research and expanded use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. On February 23, , Gaetz, worried about protesters disrupting his speaking at his town hall in Pace, Florida , prepared what his staffers called a "non-verbal town hall.
At the meeting he was grilled about his relationship with Donald Trump , his stance on repealing the Affordable Care Act colloquially known as Obamacare , and his proposal to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency EPA. He said that Trump should release his tax returns, but stopped short of saying Congress should subpoena them.
In April , Politico described Gaetz as "one of the most enthusiastic defenders of President Trump on cable news" and a "proud Trump protege". Gaetz voted in support of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of In , Gaetz acknowledged global warming but said he disagrees with the scientific consensus on climate change that human activity is the primary cause. Gaetz said "In our fervor to protect the environment, we lose sight of economic and scientific reality. He said, "our small businesses cannot afford to cover the costs associated with compliance, too often leading to closed doors and unemployed Americans.
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It is time to take back our legislative power from the EPA and abolish it permanently. I also think history is going to judge very harshly climate change deniers, and I don't want to be one of them. Gaetz said that "Our nation's embassy is currently in Tel Aviv, which is disrespectful, dismissive, and wrong. Moving the U. Embassy to Jerusalem will send the Palestinian Authority a message that their days of denying Israel's existence are over, and that they must become an honest partner in peace.
In April , after the House passed a resolution withdrawing American support for the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen , Gaetz was one of nine lawmakers to sign a letter to President Trump requesting a meeting with him and urging him to sign "Senate Joint Resolution 7, which invokes the War Powers Act of to end unauthorized US military participation in the Saudi-led coalition's armed conflict against" Houthi forces in Yemen , "initiated in by the Obama administration. As a Florida state representative in , Gaetz sponsored an amendment with Democratic representative David Richardson to repeal the Florida's ban on adoptions by same-sex couples.
When Gaetz served in the Florida House of Representatives, he led an effort to allow Floridians with concealed-weapons permits to carry those weapons openly in public, [61] which was ultimately unsuccessful. In lobbying for the passage of the bill, Gaetz said that the open carry of weapons was a right "granted not by government but by God. In October , Gaetz said that the Medicaid expansion permitted by Obamacare fueled the opioid crisis.
Gaetz opposes sanctuary cities , which opt not to dedicate local law enforcement resources to prosecuting people solely for being undocumented.
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In November Gaetz introduced a congressional resolution calling for Robert Mueller to recuse himself as special counsel because of what were said to be conflicts of interest. After Ohio congressman Jim Jordan 's denial that he was aware of the sexual abuse of Ohio State University wrestlers during the period when Jordan was a coach there, [75] Gaetz said that the allegations came from people in the " deep state " and were intended to reduce the credibility of Jordan's criticism of Mueller's investigation of the alleged collusion between Trump campaign and Russia.
Gaetz said of then- Attorney General Jeff Sessions that " But you weren't interested in whether the Russians interfered through Steele—and if Steele was lying, then you should have charged him with lying like you charged a variety of other people. Schmidt , beginning when Schmidt would have been around 10 years old. We pride ourselves on seeking as much citizen input as possible. Gaetz said that he had no "pre-existing" relationship with Johnson and only invited him to attend when Johnson showed up at his office, providing him the ticket which Gaetz's father could not use due to his bronchitis.
According to Johnson, he was invited by several members of Congress but "took Gaetz's invitation" because "he's into stuff on the issues that I care about. In , Gaetz was arrested under a charge of driving under the influence DUI as he was driving back from the Swamp, a nightclub on Okaloosa Island, Florida. Police recorded Gaetz driving 13 mph over that area's speed limit. Gaetz failed an eye test twice, then declined field sobriety tests. After Gaetz was arrested, he refused to take a breathalyzer test. Shortly after Gaetz's case was referred to state attorney Steve Meadows, Gaetz's driving license was reinstated.
Despite a time period of a year's suspension mandated by Florida law when a driver refuses a breathalyzer test, Gaetz's suspension was less than a year long. Gaetz's refusal also did not lead to a criminal prosecution, where it could have been used against him. An officer for the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles declared there was no evidence that Gaetz refused a breathalyzer test, despite the arresting police officer having documented it in an affidavit and Gaetz's arrest report, and Gaetz's own attorney also documenting it. Gaetz's attorney also claimed an unnamed witness who knew Gaetz "observed no indication of impairment".
Charges against Gaetz were dismissed by Meadows.
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Gaetz has cited the dropped charges as proof that he was innocent. Between and , Gaetz received 16 speeding tickets in Florida. The Scripps Florida Investigative Team reviewed Gaetz and other Florida legislators, noting that 46 legislators have more than 10 driving violations.
On February 26, , the night before the scheduled public hearing of Michael Cohen , Donald Trump's former personal attorney, before the House Oversight Committee , Gaetz directed a tweet to Cohen that implied without evidence that Cohen had had multiple extra-marital affairs and also suggested his wife might be unfaithful while he was imprisoned due to new information disclosed to her.
Gaetz's tweet was seen by other members of Congress as an attempt to intimidate a witness. Despite not being a member of the House Oversight Committee which Cohen would appear in front of, [93] Gaetz appeared at Cohen's hearing, stating that he wanted to observe and ask questions. In October , Gaetz organized a "storming" of a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility on Capitol Hill by about two dozen Republican congressmen, including House minority whip Steve Scalise , in an effort to sit in on and hear the deposition of a Pentagon official during the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump.
The congressmen's cell phones and other devices put the secure facility, and the security of the United States, at risk. They reached a boiling point and these guys marched in and said we want to know what's going on. Gaetz grew up in a house that was used in The Truman Show , a film about a man who is always on television.
As of , his parents still live in that house, in Seaside, Florida. Gaetz's younger sister Erin was director of digital content for Jeb Bush's presidential campaign. Gaetz is unmarried. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Representative from Florida. Retrieved February 5, Things to know about congressman accused of threatening Michael Cohen".
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox Media Group. Retrieved June 11, Congressman Matt Gaetz. House of Representatives.
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Sunshine State News. The News Service of Florida. Retrieved July 11, December 3, Retrieved September 10, Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on September 13, Retrieved May 20, Mother Jones. Retrieved October 24, The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved May 2, Florida Department of State Division of Elections.
Retrieved July 24, You can face steep penalties and fines.
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These serious charges can even cost you your job. The best decision you can make is to hire an experienced DUI law firm to defend you. Meldon Law has veteran criminal defense attorneys that can defend your case. Our Palm Beach County DUI lawyers can argue your case in court and work extensively to lessen your charges or even get them dismissed. Our firm fights to win for our clients. Call us at to schedule a free consultation.
According to the Florida Department of Transportation, impaired driving is the operation of a vehicle while intoxicated.
The following substances can affect drivers:. Other factors that determine charges are property damages, physical injuries, and deaths.