A woman left a comment on Facebook criticizing the Mayor of Miami Beach. The Mayor of Miami Beach then sent the cops

[Ilsa]

2. The story doesn't end with the visit. She got a lawyer.

Last edited Mon Jan 19, 2026, 05:59 PM - Edit history (1)

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article314351172.html

A prominent free speech organization sent a letter to the Miami Beach Police Department on Friday, slamming its decision to send officers to the home of a resident who criticized Mayor Steven Meiner on Facebook. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonprofit more widely known as FIRE, called the move “an egregious abuse of power” that “chills the exercise of First Amendment rights and undermines public confidence in the department’s commitment to respecting civil liberties and the United States Constitution.”

On Monday, two Miami Beach police detectives paid Raquel Pacheco a visit to ask about a critical comment that had been left under one of Meiner’s Facebook posts. Video taken by Pacheco showed officers warning her that her comment — in which she said that Meiner “consistently calls for the death of all Palestinians” — could potentially “incite somebody to do something radical.”

snip

[T]he purpose of their visit was not to investigate a crime. It had no purpose other than to pressure Pacheco to cease engaging in protected political expression over concern about how others might react to it,” Terr wrote. “This blatant overreach is offensive to the First Amendment.” The letter was addressed to Police Chief Wayne Jones, who defended the officers’ actions in a statement Friday in which he said his department “is committed to safeguarding residents and visitors while also respecting constitutional rights.”

Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article314351172.html#storylink=cpy