belligerentburger

EXCLUSIVE: Eleventh Circuit confirms First Amendment retaliation case against Randy Fine moves forward A First Amendment retaliation lawsuit against Rep. Randy Fine remains pending in federal court, the Eleventh Circuit confirmed in a March 18, 2026 order. Colby Alexander Frank sued Fine in October 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Case No. 6:23-cv-02043-JSS-RMN, alleging that Fine, then a Florida House member, called him a Nazi, threatened to punch him, falsely told media he had been jumped, and falsely claimed on social media that Frank was being prosecuted for a violent felony. Frank further alleged that Fine used his state legislative position to retaliate against constitutionally protected speech by co-sponsoring HB 269 and coordinating with law enforcement to have him arrested for distributing flyers. Fine moved to dismiss. Frank appealed certain procedural orders to the Eleventh Circuit. On March 18, 2026, a panel of Judges Jill Pryor, Newsom, and Grant dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, explaining that Frank’s claims “remain pending” and the appealed orders are not final. The ruling is procedural, not a merits decision. But the effective import is clear: a sitting Member of Congress is a defendant in a federal civil rights case alleging coordination with law enforcement to silence and retaliate against a private citizen, and that case is still moving forward in the district court more than two years after it was filed. Court documents in Frank v. Fine, 6:23-cv-02043-JSS-RMN, are available through PACER. Fine’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

DA Robert Nash in the ChudTheBuilder case reportedly told the judge that “Dalton’s abuse of First Amendment privileges is what got us into this mess in the first place.” The First Amendment isn't a Privilege. It's an inalienable fundamental right inherent to all individuals that cannot be surrendered or transferred.