CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Anthony Verdugo, chairman of the Florida Christian Coalition and a board member of antigay group Take Back Miami-Dade, was arrested Friday and charged with one count of falsely swearing that he had witnessed the signing of a petition calling for a ballot measure to repeal a 1998 ordinance that prohibits discrimination against gays, according to The Miami Herald. Ralph Patterson, a Miami-Dade notary public, was also arrested Friday on a charge of illegally notarizing his own signature on a petition. Investigators said a third person was expected to be arrested Sunday in an ongoing investigation of how opponents of Miami-Dade County's gay rights amendment have been gathering signatures for a ballot measure that will be voted on September 10. John Aguero, special prosecutor from Polk County who is handling the yearlong investigation into allegations of forged signatures and other petition irregularities, would not identify the third person but said that individual will also be charged with falsely notarizing a petition document. On Thursday 17-year-old Christian Montoya was arrested on a charge of falsely swearing that he saw someone sign such a petition. Montoya will be arraigned in juvenile court Monday. Verdugo told the Herald Saturday that the arrests are a ploy to embarrass Take Back Miami-Dade and are part of "a vast left-wing conspiracy by corrupt enemies of the democracy." No to Discrimination/SAVE Dade, the group fighting to keep the amendment, called Verdugo's claim outrageous. "They lied to voters to get the signatures, they falsified additional signatures, they manipulated the system to get the investigation moved to another prosecutor, and now they claim to be victims of the prosecutor they chose?" SAVE Dade chairwoman Heddy Pena said. "It's outrageous that they would claim to be victims after perpetrating one fraud after another."
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
21+ steamy photos of Scotland’s finest gay men in Elska Glasgow
February 01 2024 10:07 PM
More Than 50 of Our Favorite LGBTQ+ Moms
May 12 2024 11:44 AM
Conjoined twins Lori Schappell and trans man George Schappell dead at 62
April 27 2024 6:13 PM
Latest Stories
Joe Biden sends queer lawmakers & LGBTQ+ allies to Paris Olympics
July 24 2024 12:08 PM
Kamala Harris rides wave of Democratic energy at kickoff event in Wisconsin
July 23 2024 3:36 PM
'Devastated:' A six-week abortion ban will go into effect in Iowa next week
July 23 2024 2:28 PM
Four hours, 44,000 Black women, and one Zoom call
July 23 2024 2:17 PM