MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — A Miami Beach Commission meeting took a tense turn during the public comment period on Thursday.
That’s when Miami Beach resident and former political candidate Raquel Pacheco brought a recent encounter with police at her home to the forefront.
“This abuse of power ends at my doorstep,” she said. “No Miami Beach resident should ever experience what I did, because if government can silence my voice, you can silence all voices.”
The incident in question happened three weeks ago, when Pacheco recorded detectives knocking on her door and asking about a comment she made on a Facebook post by Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner.
Miami Beach Police Chief Wayne Jones stood by what he called a “knock and talk” while saying they do it all the time.
When asked if he would handle the situation the same way again, Jones said, “absolutely.”
Jones said the mayor, who is an Orthodox Jew, passes along concerning messages and comments at times, and they decided to look into this one.
“What they’re trying to do is turn this into an anti-Semitism situation when it has absolutely nothing to do with it,” said Pacheco.
Pacheco said it’s a violation of her first amendment right, having law enforcement come to her home for posting opposing opinions.
However, police said she could have been inciting violence.
“Something we believe is inciteful to others to act in violence, we have an obligation to react to that,” Jones said.
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