Ashley Moody Archives - The Florida Capital Star

Florida Ramps Up Law Enforcement Recruitment Efforts Nationwide

April 24, 2023April 23, 2023 The Center Square

The state of Florida ramped up its law enforcement recruitment efforts nationwide through a job fair held Thursday in all 50 states to encourage more law enforcement officers to relocate to the state.

Expanding on an invitation from Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2021 to law enforcement officers in other states to relocate to a state where he said they would be appreciated, Attorney General Ashley Moody, the Florida Sheriffs Association (FSA) and the Florida Police Chiefs Association (FPCA) are sponsoring the new national law enforcement recruitment effort.

Moody Seeks Investigation into Biden Administration’s Handling of Minors Trafficked to U.S.

April 20, 2023April 19, 2023 The Center Square

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody called on Congress on Tuesday to investigate the Biden administration for what she described as “subjecting unaccompanied minors to human trafficking.”

Moody did so after reporting the findings of a Florida statewide grand jury “documenting horrible conditions unaccompanied minors experience because of the Biden administration’s failed policies and lack of oversight.”

Florida AG Moody Sues Federal Agencies for Failing to Respond to FOIA Requests

April 16, 2023April 15, 2023 The Center Square

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is suing two federal agencies for failing to respond to Freedom of Information requests filed over a year ago. The FOIA requests relate to a Biden administration program that allegedly used taxpayer money to purchase crack pipes for drug addicts, she said.

In February 2022, Florida sent FOIA requests to the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services asking for records about the use of federal grant funds being used to promote drug use through safe smoking kits, some of which reportedly included crack pipes and other drug-related paraphernalia.

Florida Grand Jury Accuses Biden Administration of Abetting ‘Forced Migration, Sale’ of Foreign Kids

April 5, 2023April 4, 2023 Just the News

A Florida grand jury’s five-month probe into the government’s processing of unaccompanied migrant children is poking a major hole into President Joe Biden’s border narrative, concluding his administration has been “facilitating the forced migration, sale, and abuse of foreign children.”

In an interim report released by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, the grand jury raised deep concerns about the Homeland Security Department and Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) implementation of the Unaccompanied Alien Child (UAC) program, saying the government’s rhetoric does not match its performance.

Florida AG Slams Biden After White House Says No Need to Designate Cartels as Terrorists

March 12, 2023March 11, 2023 The Center Square

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody called President Joe Biden “trafficker-in-chief” Thursday in response to a White House spokesperson saying there’s no need to designate Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs).

On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, “Designating these cartels as FTOs would not grant us any additional authorities that we don’t really have at this time. The United States has powerful sanctions authorities specifically designated to combat narcotics trafficking organizations and the individuals and entities that enable them.”

Report Shows Florida’s Pension System Facing Headwinds

January 11, 2023January 10, 2023 The Center Square

The Florida Retirement System has shrunk over the last year and some analysts are saying that it will not survive on its current course, with new legislation likely not to have much of an impact.

According to the Department of Management Service’s annual comprehensive financial report, the Florida Retirement System has had a net income loss of $21,773,027 in the 2022 fiscal year, after beginning the year at $202,082,182,546 and ending the year at $180,226,404,807.

Florida AG Urges Biden to Demand Action from Mexico Counterpart to Combat Fentanyl Crisis

January 9, 2023January 8, 2023 The Center Square

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody called on President Joe Biden on Friday to “confront Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador” and “demand action” to stop the flow of illicit fentanyl being brought into the U.S. from Mexico by the Sinaloa Cartel and its gang affiliates.

The presidents are scheduled to meet in Mexico City on Monday.

Florida AG Moody Calls on Biden to Restore Top Drug Post to Address National Fentanyl Crisis

December 20, 2022December 19, 2022 The Center Square

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody on Monday called on President Joe Biden to reverse an Obama-era decision to make the Director for the Office of the National Drug Control Policy a cabinet-level position again.

Moody sent a letter to the president asking him to take action immediately before the public health authority Title 42 ends this week, “which will fuel a massive border surge and allow even more deadly fentanyl to flood into the country,” she said.

Florida Law Enforcement Officers Seize Enough Fentanyl to Kill State’s Entire Population

October 29, 2022October 28, 2022 The Center Square

In the past few months, Florida law enforcement officers have seized enough fentanyl to kill the state’s entire 22 million population.

Attorney General Ashley Moody announced massive seizures of illicit fentanyl pouring into Florida after being smuggled across the southern border as her office continues to fight the Biden administration in court over its immigration policies.

Florida AG Moody Launches 2022 Human Trafficking Summit, Registration Still Open

October 19, 2022October 18, 2022 The Center Square

A Florida-led virtual 2022 Human Trafficking Summit launched Tuesday nationwide, engaging experts from across the country to collaborate on ways to more effectively combat human trafficking. More than 2,300 attendees registered and registration remains open at HumanTraffickingSummit.com.

The summit provides over 16 hours of educational content, which will remain accessible online through March 2023.

AG Moody: Florida Law Enforcement Shuts Down Major Drug Trafficking Organization Affiliated with Mexican Cartels

October 16, 2022October 15, 2022 The Center Square

Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement shut down a major drug trafficking operation run by gang members affiliated with Mexican cartels, Moody’s office announced Wednesday.

So far, 25 people have been charged, including SUR-13 (Sureños) gang members who already have multiple felony counts related to drug trafficking, violent criminal acts and conspiracy. They were arrested on a combined 64 first-degree felony counts. Many involved were already incarcerated in prisons in several counties in Florida.

Florida Attorney General Warns Potential Looters of Consequences During State of Emergency

October 2, 2022October 1, 2022 The Center Square

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is warning people not to loot during the state of emergency resulting from widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Ian.

She issued a warning to criminals on Friday, saying, “you will spend maximum time allowed by law behind bars.”

GOP Attorneys General Pressing NAAG to Return $280 Million

September 19, 2022September 18, 2022 RealClearWire

A dozen Republican state attorneys general are fed up with what they view as the leftward drift and self-dealing of their nonpartisan national association and are asking the organization to change its ways and return roughly $280 million in assets to the states.

The National Association of Attorneys General was created in 1907 as a bipartisan forum for all state and territory attorneys general. Over the last year, several of the group’s Republican members have asserted that NAAG has become a partisan litigation machine that improperly benefits from the many tort settlements it helps to engineer.

Florida and Connecticut Attorneys General Lead Bipartisan Effort to Classify Illicit Fentanyl as Weapon of Mass Destruction

September 17, 2022September 16, 2022 The Center Square

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong are leading a multistate, bipartisan effort urging President Joe Biden to classify illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction (WMD).

“I first called for President Biden to take swift action in July and call fentanyl what it is – a weapon of mass destruction,” Moody said. “Now, I am leading a bipartisan coalition of 18 attorneys general demanding the president take action now, declare fentanyl a WMD and join us in our fight to prevent the death and destruction caused by this highly-lethal substance from getting even worse.”

Moody, Others Training Floridians to Identify and Report Human Trafficking

September 12, 2022 The Center Square

Attorney General Ashley Moody, Truckers Against Trafficking, the Florida Department of Transportation and Busing on the Lookout are working together to train more than 100 Floridians in the gaming and passenger transportation industries to identify and report human trafficking.

Moody and TAT hosted a Florida Bus & Casino Coalition Build Out training program on Thursday about how to identify human trafficking and learn about ways state and local law enforcement are combating it.

Border Chief in Sworn Testimony: Southern Border ‘Is Currently in a Crisis’

August 31, 2022August 30, 2022 The Center Square

As part of ongoing litigation against the Biden administration, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody continues to uncover what she calls “damning evidence” about the consequences stemming from Biden administration policies changing federal immigration laws.

Moody’s chief deputy on July 28 deposed U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz, who testified under oath that the Biden administration purposely reduced U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detention capacity and changed the removal process of people illegally in the U.S.

DeSantis, Moody Respond to FBI Raid at Mar-a-Lago

August 10, 2022August 9, 2022 Grant Holcomb

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) have been vocal since the FBI launched a raid at the home of former President Donald Trump (R) Monday morning. They both derided the partisan nature of the raid.

Florida AG, FTC Taking Legal Action to Shut Down COVID-19 Scam Targeting Minority-Owned Small Businesses

July 5, 2022July 4, 2022 The Center Square

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and the Federal Trade Commission have taken legal action to shut down what they say was a fraudulent scheme perpetrated by a company targeting minority-owned small businesses.

They filed a joint complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida where Judge Marcia Morales Howard issued a temporary restraining order against the company, preventing it from doing any more business.

Florida Begins Trial Against Walgreens, Last Holdout in Opioid Settlements

April 18, 2022April 17, 2022 The Center Square

Jurors in Florida heard opening arguments Monday in the civil case against pharmacy chain Walgreens over its marketing and distribution of opiods.

The lawsuit was filed by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.

Florida Congressman Files Bill to Give States Ability to Enforce Immigration Laws When Federal Government Won’t

April 10, 2022April 9, 2022 The Center Square

U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, R-Fla., has filed a bill that would give states a greater ability to enforce immigration laws when the federal government won’t.

Posey and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced his bill, the Immigration and Enforcement Partnership Act of 2022, after the Biden administration decided to terminate Title 42, a federal public health rule used during national public health emergencies. Moody has sued the administration several times for violating immigration law.

21 States Join Lawsuit to End Federal Mask Mandate on Airplanes, Public Transportation

March 30, 2022March 29, 2022 The Center Square

Twenty-one states have filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s continued mask mandate on public transportation, including on airplanes.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody are leading the effort. Moody filed the suit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida along with 20 other attorneys general. DeSantis said the mask mandate was misguided and heavy-handed.

Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis Offers Support for Canadian Convoy

February 16, 2022February 15, 2022 Grant Holcomb

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis (R) issued a proclamation offering his support for the Canadian Freedom Convoy. Patronis announced the proclamation through Twitter.

“Florida stands with the truckers of Canada,” Patronis said. “May Trudeau’s repression come to an end. #CanadaTruckersForFreedom”

Florida Officials Meet with ‘Pedro Pan’ Refugees to Discuss Border Crisis

February 9, 2022February 8, 2022 The Center Square

The Biden administration is advancing immigration policies that are harming children, Gov. Ron DeSantis, Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, and Attorney General Ashley Moody say.

The statewide elected officials met Monday with Cuban Americans who came to Miami as children as part of the 1960-62 era humanitarian operation Peter Pan (“Pedro Pan”). Over a two-year period, more than 14,000 Cuban youths arrived alone in the U.S. in what was at the time the largest recorded exodus of unaccompanied minors in the Western Hemisphere fleeing from the communist dictatorship of Fidel Castro.

DeSantis, Moody Will Investigate GoFundMe After Canadian Convoy Spat

February 8, 2022February 7, 2022 Grant Holcomb

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) said on Fox News on Sunday that she, along with the approval of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), will investigate GoFundMe, one of the largest fundraising platforms in the world.

Trucker ‘Freedom Convoy’ Sparks More Controversy After GoFundMe Refunds $10 Million

February 7, 2022February 6, 2022 The Center Square

A Canadian movement of truckers protesting the country’s vaccine mandate has inspired a similar protest in the U.S., with a convoy expected to arrive at the nation’s capital next month. That movement, though, sparked controversy beyond its protest this weekend after a run-in with the popular online fundraiser, GoFundMe.

GoFundMe announced it would refund more than $10 million in donations to donors of the “Freedom Convoy” online fundraiser after threats of a fraud investigation from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis threatened the investigation after GoFundMe reportedly froze the fundraising account Friday and said they would give the funds to another charity of Freedom Convoy’s choice.

Florida Joins Multi-State Lawsuit Against Biden Admin’s ‘Illegal’ Immigration Program

January 31, 2022January 30, 2022 The Center Square

Florida joined a multi-state coalition led by Texas suing the Biden administration for reinstating an Obama-era program that allows illegal immigrants to enter and remain in the U.S., bypassing laws established by Congress.

In addition to Texas and Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Alaska joined the lawsuit over the Biden administration’s reinstating a 2014-era Central America Minors (CAM) Program that was halted by the Trump administration in 2017.

As Fentanyl Distribution Rises, AG Moody Calls on Biden Administration to Enforce Existing Immigration Laws

January 25, 2022January 24, 2022 The Center Square

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is calling on President Joe Biden and the leaders of the House and Senate to “stop posturing” and acknowledge the magnitude of the crisis at the southwest border, which she says is enabling the illicit importation of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, fueling a drug crisis in America.

More than 21 Floridians die every day from accidental opioid overdoses, Moody said.

“Biden’s lax border policy is an open invitation to dangerous criminals, human traffickers and drug traffickers to enter the United States – creating a crisis at the Southern Border like we have never seen,” Moody, who last year sued the Biden administration over reinstating an Obama-era catch and release program, said. “Because Biden is not requiring those crossing the border to go through the legally mandated channels, they are coming into our country without being properly processed.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody Investigating Meta/Facebook Marketing Practices Related to Minors

November 21, 2021November 20, 2021 Grant Holcomb

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) announced she is launching an investigation against Meta, the company previously known as Facebook before its recent rebrand. Moody is joining seven other attorneys general in launching an investigation into its targeted marketing practices toward children and teenagers.

“We have serious concerns about how social media is impacting the lives of young people in this country, and as a mother, I want to know how Facebook/Meta is targeting youth and what strategies this Big Tech giant is using to entice children and teens to lengthen engagement on its platforms,” Moody said in an official statement. “I am proud to lead these efforts with our partner states to find out if Meta violated any consumer protection laws and put our children at risk.”