$63M verdict against Miami commissioner accused of political retaliation
Associated PressFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A federal jury in Florida awarded $63.5 million on Thursday to a pair of businessmen who claimed a city of Miami commissioner used his office to harass them after they supported the commissioner’s political opponent. Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo was found civilly liable in Fort Lauderdale federal court of violating the First Amendment rights of Little Havana business owners William Fuller and Martin Pinilla. Attorneys for Fuller and Pinilla claimed that Carollo infringed on their free speech rights by weaponizing police and code enforcement to harass them and damage their reputations after they supported another candidate in Carollo’s city commission race in 2017. Carollo’s attorney said the commissioner wasn’t specifically targeting Fuller and Pinilla but working for the betterment of his district.
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