Authorities identified the man accused of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shooting-reported-at-florida-state-university-at-least-4-people-wounded?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=At+Least+2+Dead%2C+Multiple+Wounded+In+Shooting+At+Florida+State" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opening fire</a> at Florida State University on Thursday as the son of a Leon County, Florida, Sheriff&#8217;s Department deputy.
At least two people were killed and six more were wounded in the shooting that took place just before noon ET. Leon County Sheriff Walter A. McNeil identified the shooter, whom The Daily Wire will not name per company policy, as a 20-year-old male student at FSU, who is the son of a sheriff&#8217;s deputy who has been with the Leon County Sheriff&#8217;s Department for over 18 years.
&#8220;Her service to this community has been exceptional,&#8221; Sheriff McNeil said of the deputy. &#8220;Unfortunately, her son had access to one of her weapons, and that was one of the weapons that was found at the scene.&#8221;
The weapon found at the scene was not the firearm that the deputy was currently using on the force, but rather one that she had been issued previously by her department.
&#8220;A lot of times — many agencies, mine included — when we transition to a new handgun, the officers are allowed to purchase the handgun they used prior. &#8230; I believe that&#8217;s the case here,&#8221; Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence E. Revell said at a press conference Thursday afternoon.
The 20-year-old suspect was also a &#8220;longstanding member of the Leon County Sheriff&#8217;s Office Youth Advisory Council,&#8221; McNeil added. &#8220;So he has been steeped in the Leon County Sheriff&#8217;s Office family, engaged in a number of training programs that we have, so it&#8217;s not a surprise to us that he had access to weapons.&#8221;
The shooter was neutralized &#8220;immediately&#8221; by Florida State University Police, and he has been transported to a local hospital. Neither of the victims who were killed were Florida State students, and their identities have not yet been released, Interim FSU Police Chief Justin Maloy said at the press conference.
FSU President Richard McCullough called the first responders &#8220;absolute heroes.&#8221;
&#8220;The call went out, and immediately they responded to the scene and immediately neutralized the suspect and prevented this from being a bigger tragedy,&#8221; McCullough said.
Florida State canceled classes and all athletic events on campus for the rest of the week.
President Donald Trump addressed the shooting from the Oval Office during a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, adding that he has been “fully briefed as to where we are right now.”
“It’s a shame. It’s a horrible thing, horrible that things like this take place,” Trump added. “And we’ll have more to say about it later.”

Florida State University shooting

FSU Shooter Identified As Son Of Sheriff’s Deputy Whose Weapon Was Found At The Scene

Crime

Florida

Florida State University

Guns

School Shooting

U.S.

At least two people were killed and five people were wounded in a mass shooting on Thursday at Florida State University in Tallahassee.
The university <a href="https://manager.everbridge.net/pub/1987265798990010" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued an alert</a> at 12:01 p.m. ET, telling students to &#8220;seek shelter and await further instructions&#8221; as an active shooter was &#8220;reported in the area of Student Union.&#8221; Florida State University Police responded to the shooting &#8220;immediately,&#8221; neutralizing the suspect and taking him into custody. The shooter is an FSU student, and neither of the victims who were killed attended the university, Interim FSU Police Chief Justin Maloy said at a press conference Thursday afternoon.
A suspect is in custody, and police are making sure there are no additional shooters, ABC News reported. At 1:04 p.m. ET, FSU sent another <a href="https://alerts.fsu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">alert</a> to students, instructing them to &#8220;continue to shelter in place,&#8221; adding that &#8220;law enforcement is actively clearing rooms on the main campus.&#8221;
Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare said it is &#8220;receiving and caring for patients&#8221; from the shooting, with at least four people being treated for unspecified injuries, NBC News reported. The hospital later updated that number to six people, with one person in critical condition and five people in serious condition. A senior law enforcement official told NBC News that at least one person had died in the shooting. It wasn&#8217;t immediately clear if the fatality was a victim or the shooter.
&#8220;At this time, details are still unfolding, and we do not yet have specific information to share,&#8221; the hospital said in a statement. &#8220;However, we want to assure the community that our teams are fully mobilized and prepared to provide the highest level of care and support to all those affected.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_909263" style="width: 778px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-909263" class="wp-image-909263 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2210086213-1-768x576.jpg" alt="Florida State University shooting" width="768" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2210086213-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2210086213-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2210086213-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2210086213-1-2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" />Students at Florida State University wait as law enforcement clears campus following a shooting on April 17, 2025 (Ana Ceballos/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images).</div>
President Donald Trump addressed the shooting from the Oval Office during a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, adding that he has been &#8220;fully briefed as to where we are right now.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s a shame. It&#8217;s a horrible thing, horrible that things like this take place,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;And we&#8217;ll have more to say about it later.&#8221;
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi <a href="https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/1912917643452883057" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the FBI is on the scene in Tallahassee.
&#8220;Our priority is the safety of everyone involved,&#8221; Bondi added. &#8220;We will keep updating as we learn more. Praying for all.&#8221;
Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL) said in a <a href="https://x.com/DrNealDunnFL2/status/1912915598859739544" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>, &#8220;It’s too early to understand the extent of the violence, but early reports are very disturbing.&#8221;
A <a href="https://x.com/WeatherGarrett/status/1912899723431641595?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1912899723431641595%7Ctwgr%5E90fa3d39c43207a788113c279e0edf4dc6cc6df1%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fiframe.nbcnews.com%2FrQpwjQI%3F_showcaption%3Dtrueapp%3D1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> taken on FSU&#8217;s campus showed some people running across a road as sirens blared. The university canceled classes for the remainder of the day and told people not already at the school to &#8220;avoid coming to the Tallahassee main campus.&#8221;
This is a developing story; refresh the page for updates.

Florida State

At Least 2 Dead, Multiple Wounded In Shooting At Florida State

Shooting

Former President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was to blame for Florida State being left out of the College Football Playoff.
The former president, who is leading in the presidential primary polls as DeSantis is currently in second place, made the remarks after the College Football Playoff selection committee selected the four teams that made the playoff: No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Washington, No. 3 Texas, and No. 4 Alabama.
&#8220;Florida State was treated very badly by the &#8216;Committee,'&#8221; Trump, who is a resident of Florida, said. &#8220;They become the first Power Five team to be left out of the College Football Playoffs. Really bad lobbying effort … Lets blame DeSanctimonious!!!&#8221;
However, a report from ESPN said that the decision by the committee to exclude Florida State from the playoff had nothing to do with a lack of any sort of lobbying effort.
The committee&#8217;s decision took exclude Florida State came in-part due to how they struggled to beat Louisville in the ACC Championship Game, including struggling to even get first downs in the game.
The selection committee — which is comprised former coaches, players, sitting athletic directors and a former sports reporter — vote repeatedly &#8220;on the teams in small batches and continue through the process of voting and debating in groups until the entire list of 25 is compiled,&#8221; ESPN reported. &#8220;So it&#8217;s not as if they begin talking about Texas and Alabama and vote around them to make it fit. The only time the committee members know the vote is when it&#8217;s a tie, because they have to vote again.&#8221;
The report said that the longer the voting went on the more clear it became that Florida State would end up at No. 5 even though things got &#8220;heated&#8221; in the room.
&#8220;All of us had the emotional tie, like, &#8216;Holy s***, this is really going to suck to do this,'&#8221; one committee member told ESPN. &#8220;We talked about that over and over, and we just kept coming back [to] are they good enough with what they have to win a national championship, and it just kept coming back [to] we didn&#8217;t think they could.&#8221;
&#8220;People may not believe it, but we don&#8217;t say, &#8216;Oh gosh, if we vote this way, the SEC is going to be left out,&#8221; another committee member said. &#8220;That never came up. Ever. We literally look at teams, put them up against each other, and say, &#8216;Who did they beat? Who did they not beat? Who have they beaten on the road? What&#8217;s their strength of schedule?&#8217; Look at the matrix and all the data.&#8221;

Donald Trump Campaigns For The Republican Presidential Nomination In Iowa

Trump: It’s DeSantis’ Fault That Florida State Got Left Out Of College Football Playoff

College Football

Donald Trump

Ron DeSantis

Florida State University has reportedly fired a professor who had five studies on racism retracted, bringing an end to a years-long, acrimonious conflict over allegations of academic fraud.
Dr. Eric Stewart, Ph.D., was fired on July 13, <a href="https://retractionwatch.com/2023/07/20/florida-university-fires-criminology-professor-blemished-by-retractions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a termination <a href="https://retractionwatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Final-Termination-Letter-7.13.23.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> obtained by Retraction Watch.
Stewart was terminated for his behavior and his &#8220;extreme negligence and incompetence&#8221; in &#8220;basic data management&#8221; that has resulted in an &#8220;unprecedented&#8221; number of retracted articles and others now in question, wrote James Clark, the school&#8217;s provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.
“Decades of research that were once thought to be at the forefront of the criminology discipline have been shown to contain numerous erroneous and false narratives,&#8221; Clark wrote, adding that the retractions have “negatively affected the discipline on a national level.”
The issues with Stewart&#8217;s research have also affected Florida State&#8217;s recruitment of students and faculty and have made the school&#8217;s other researchers worry about being able to get their papers into top journals, the letter said.
“The damage to the standing of the University and, in particular, the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice and its faculty approaches the catastrophic and may be unalterable,” Clark wrote.
Clark said he made the decision to fire Stewart after reviewing the evidence gathered during the school&#8217;s investigation. He also mentioned that Stewart was given the opportunity to defend himself to a &#8220;peer panel.&#8221;
Stewart abruptly disappeared from his position in March after his peers accused him of committing academic fraud in studies to make racism appear much more prevalent in the criminal justice system than it actually is, The Florida Standard <a href="https://www.theflstandard.com/fsu-criminology-professor-abruptly-leaves-after-accusations-of-cooking-race-data/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Stewart, who is black, was an <a href="https://nij.ojp.gov/bio/eric-stewart" target="_blank" rel="noopener">associate professor</a> at FSU’s College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, as well as a Fellow of the American Society of Criminology and had been employed at the school for 16 years.
Six of Stewart&#8217;s studies from 2006 to 2015 have now been retracted, a stain on FSU’s prestigious criminology department. Five of those studies dealt with race.
Stewart was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lynched-me-florida-state-prof-leaves-after-accusations-he-faked-race-data" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first accused</a> of falsifying data in 2019 by Justin Pickett, a professor at the State University of New York at Albany. Stewart and Pickett co-authored one of the now-retracted <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2011.00225.x?ref=theflstandard.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">studies</a> published in 2011.
That particular retracted study claimed to find that as black and Hispanic populations grew, so did the public’s desire for harsher, discriminatory criminal sentences for them. However, the original data showed that there was no relationship between growing black and Hispanic populations and the public’s desire for harsher sentences.
Pickett found that if anything, the conclusion was the opposite.
Also, the sample size increased from 500 to more than 1,000 people, and the number of counties polled slipped from 326 to 91. The data had “mathematical impossibilities,” Pickett <a href="https://econjwatch.org/File+download/1139/PickettMar2020.pdf?mimetype=pdf&amp;ref=theflstandard.com">said</a>.
“Scientific fraud occurs all too frequently — approximately 1 in 50 scientists admit to fabricating or falsifying data — and I believe it is the most likely explanation for the data irregularities in the five retracted articles,” Pickett wrote in an <a href="https://econjwatch.org/articles/the-stewart-retractions-a-quantitative-and-qualitative-analysis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> for Econ Journal Watch.
When Pickett pointed out the issues with the study to Stewart, he refused to give Pickett a copy of the original data for four months, Pickett <a href="https://econjwatch.org/File+download/1139/PickettMar2020.pdf?mimetype=pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Stewart <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jan/14/florida-state-university-under-fire-eric-stewart-a/?ref=theflstandard.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> FSU administrators in an email that Pickett “essentially lynched me and my academic character.”
He also complained about feeling targeted in texts to colleagues that were made public.
“For some reason, data thugs are after me. It seems very personal,” Stewart said in one of the texts. “All of the blame is being directed at me.”
Two of the other studies examined whether white people who live in areas where lynchings occurred were more likely to view black people as criminals and favor harsher criminal punishments.
Initially, FSU did not react with much of a response to the bombshell allegations that Stewart committed academic fraud repeatedly. The university opened a small inquiry that <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jan/14/florida-state-university-under-fire-eric-stewart-a/?ref=theflstandard.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concluded</a> there was no need for a full-scale investigation. However, when the sixth study was challenged in 2020, FSU finally launched an investigation.

Florida State University Fires Professor Behind Retracted Racism Studies: Report

Academia

Education

A top <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/florida-state-university" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Florida State University</a> professor appears to have left his job suddenly following years of accusations that he faked data on race and the criminal justice system.
Dr. Eric Stewart, Ph.D., has abruptly disappeared from his position after his peers accused him of committing academic fraud in studies to make racism appear much more prevalent in the criminal justice system than it actually is, The Florida Standard <a href="https://www.theflstandard.com/fsu-criminology-professor-abruptly-leaves-after-accusations-of-cooking-race-data/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Stewart, who is black, was an <a href="https://nij.ojp.gov/bio/eric-stewart" target="_blank" rel="noopener">associate professor</a> at FSU&#8217;s College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, as well as a Fellow of the American Society of Criminology.
Six of the professor&#8217;s studies from 2006 to 2015 have now been retracted, a stain on FSU&#8217;s prestigious criminology department. Five of those studies dealt with race.
Stewart was first accused of falsifying data in 2019 by Justin Pickett, a professor at the State University of New York at Albany. Stewart and Pickett co-authored one of the now-retracted <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2011.00225.x?ref=theflstandard.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">studies</a> published in 2011.
This particular retracted study claimed to find that as black and Hispanic populations grew, so did the public&#8217;s desire for harsher, discriminatory criminal sentences for them. However, the original data showed that there was no relationship between growing black and Hispanic populations and the public&#8217;s desire for harsher sentences.
Pickett found that if anything, the conclusion was the opposite.
Also, the sample size increased from 500 to more than 1,000 people, and the number of counties polled slipped from 326 to 91. The data had &#8220;mathematical impossibilities,&#8221; Pickett <a href="https://econjwatch.org/File+download/1139/PickettMar2020.pdf?mimetype=pdf&amp;ref=theflstandard.com">said</a>.
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&#8220;Scientific fraud occurs all too frequently — approximately 1 in 50 scientists admit to fabricating or falsifying data — and I believe it is the most likely explanation for the data irregularities in the five retracted articles,&#8221; Pickett wrote in an <a href="https://econjwatch.org/articles/the-stewart-retractions-a-quantitative-and-qualitative-analysis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> for Econ Journal Watch.
When Pickett pointed out the issues with the study to Stewart, he refused to give Pickett a copy of the original data for four months, Pickett <a href="https://econjwatch.org/File+download/1139/PickettMar2020.pdf?mimetype=pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Two of the other studies examined whether white people who live in areas where lynchings occurred were more likely to view black people as criminals and favor harsher criminal punishments.
Initially, FSU did not react with much of a response to the bombshell allegations that Stewart committed academic fraud repeatedly.
The university opened a small inquiry that <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jan/14/florida-state-university-under-fire-eric-stewart-a/?ref=theflstandard.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concluded</a> there was no need for a full-scale investigation. However, when the sixth study was challenged in 2020, FSU finally launched an investigation.
The investigation has not officially concluded, but as of March, Stewart is no longer employed at FSU, where his salary <a href="https://openpayrolls.com/employee/eric-stewart-4286?ref=theflstandard.com">was</a> nearly $190,000.
Stewart <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jan/14/florida-state-university-under-fire-eric-stewart-a/?ref=theflstandard.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> FSU administrators in an email that Pickett “essentially lynched me and my academic character.”
In texts to colleagues that were made public, Stewart complained about feeling targeted.
“For some reason, data thugs are after me. It seems very personal,” Stewart said in one of the texts. “All of the blame is being directed at me.”
The university has not yet made a public statement about Stewart&#8217;s apparent departure.
The errors in Stewart&#8217;s studies were found just before parents and other critics began <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-is-critical-race-theory-breaking-down-the-ideology-thats-hitting-schools-across-the-country">sounding</a> the alarm about Critical Race Theory content in colleges and public schools.

‘Lynched Me’: Florida State Prof Leaves After Accusations He Faked Race Data

'Lynched Me’: Florida State Prof Leaves After Accusations He Faked Race Data

Race

Florida college students on Sunday slammed a California university for urging its non-white students to report professors who cause &#8220;race-related stress.&#8221;
California State University Monterey Bay officials published material on the institution&#8217;s <a href="https://csumb.edu/pgcc/coping-racism-discrimination/">website</a> under the Personal Growth and Counseling Center section, which suggests students &#8220;think broadly about what could be an act of racism,&#8221; which includes a professor consistently not calling on them or minimizing their contributions and teaching racially biased curriculum.
However, three Campus Reform correspondents told &#8220;<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/woke-california-university-slammed-dehumanized-initiative-encouraging-students-tell-professors?intcmp=tw_fnc">Fox &amp; Friends Weekend</a>&#8221; on Sunday it only pushes the broader issues of far-left liberal colleges injecting the &#8220;woke&#8221; agenda into college classrooms.
&#8220;I believe when Francis Bellamy wrote &#8216;One Nation under God, Indivisible,&#8217; we oftentimes overlook that word indivisible,&#8221; Florida State University graduate law student Darryl Boyer said. &#8220;We must stop dividing our nation and come together as one.&#8221;
Boyer, a black student who earned his undergraduate degree at the University of North Florida before entering his current graduate program, said he has never felt discriminated against based on the color of his skin.
According to Cal State Monterey Bay&#8217;s website, race-related stress cause symptoms ranging from psychological issues like anxiety, depression, paranoia, and self-blame. Other concerns noted on the website claim physiological health problems may arise, including heart disease, hypertension, and muscle tension.
&#8220;Don&#8217;t ignore or minimize your experiences,&#8221; the website reads. &#8220;Talk to someone you trust, and report it.&#8221;
Boyer, however, said the fact the university is pushing students to tell on their professors for racism makes him &#8220;feel dehumanized.&#8221;
&#8220;That really takes away the credibility for when things like that may really be happening,&#8221; he said.
University of Central Florida student Courtney McLain told the news outlet she has been witnessing more of the conceptual framework of diversity, equity, and inclusion, which claims to promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people, enforced in her school and taking away from academia learning.
&#8220;I&#8217;m frustrated because I feel like I&#8217;m not learning as much academically as I could because we&#8217;re putting so much money into this,&#8221; McLain said. &#8220;We&#8217;re seeing this in more and more schools across the country, that these students are just being believed automatically, which worries me because when I need to go to my administration about a problem, they don&#8217;t want to believe me since sometimes these students are actually saying things that are incredible.&#8221;
University of Florida student Emily Sturge said the move from Cal State Monterey Bay is another example of &#8220;wokeism taking over college campuses.&#8221;
&#8220;We&#8217;re seeing the left inject this woke ideology into college classrooms because this is how the left is winning,&#8221; Sturge said. &#8220;They&#8217;re winning the culture war because they&#8217;re injecting it into our course curriculum.&#8221;
Sturge called the ideology &#8220;absolutely crazy,&#8221; adding the movement has spread from blue states such as California to red states like Florida.

Students Wearing Mortarboards In City

Campus Reform Correspondents Slam California University For Urging Students To Report Professors For ‘Racism’

Campus Reform Correspondents Slam California University For Urging Students To Report Professors For 'Racism'

California State University

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Woke Culture

Mike and Denise Williams were high school sweethearts who met when they were just 15 years old and attending North Florida Christian High School in Tallahassee. Mike, the student council president, a football player, and avid duck hunter, took a shine to his future wife, a cheerleader who received the yearbook title “best dressed.”
The two went on to attend Florida State University together, with Mike majoring in political science and urban planning and taking a job as a property appraiser. The couple made good money and bought a home in an upscale subdivision in East Tallahassee. To the outside world, they seemed to have the perfect marriage, especially after the couple’s daughter, Anslee, was born in 1999.
But that all changed on December 16, 2000.
It was Mike and Denise’s sixth wedding anniversary, and Denise would later tell investigators that her husband woke up early, as he often did, to go duck hunting at Lake Seminole. By noon, however, he had not returned, so Denise called her father. 
Shortly after that, Mike’s best friend, Brian Winchester, and <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/12/12/police-thought-he-was-eaten-by-alligators-in-2000-now-his-high-school-sweetheart-is-on-trial-for-his-murder/">Winchester’s father</a>, drove out to the lake to look for Mike. There they found his 1994 Ford Bronco near a boat launch, but found no other signs of Mike.
A search team was sent to the lake, but found only Mike’s hunting license, jacket, and waders, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/02/07/police-thought-he-was-eaten-by-alligators-his-high-school-sweetheart-was-just-sentenced-his-death/">according to The Washington Post</a>. It would be 17 years before Mike’s body would be found.
Before that, however, investigators believed that Mike had drowned following a boating accident and was eaten by alligators, the Tallahassee Democrat<a href="https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/10/19/mike-williams-murder-denise-williams-brian-winchester-chery-williams-lake-seminole-alligators/1687512002/"> reported</a>. Though his body wasn’t found, Mike Williams was declared legally dead, allowing Denise to collect <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/12/12/police-thought-he-was-eaten-by-alligators-in-2000-now-his-high-school-sweetheart-is-on-trial-for-his-murder/">$1.75 million from multiple life insurance policies</a>.
Within five years of Mike’s disappearance, Denise married Brian Winchester, who, it turned out, had sold Mike some of the insurance policies just a few months before he disappeared. The couple also lived in the house Mike and Denise had previously shared.
While most people moved on, Mike’s mother, Cheryl, refused to believe that her son had drowned and conducted her own investigation.
&#8220;From the minute he disappeared&#8230;I knew the police&#8217;s explanation wasn&#8217;t true,&#8221; Cheryl <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/fla-man-strange-disappearance-draws-attention-16-years-article-1.2756350">told</a> the New York Daily News in 2016.
In 2004, she was able to lobby the Florida Department of Law Enforcement <a href="https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/05/08/17-years-after-mike-williams-disappearance-wife-charged-his-murder-tallahassee-denise-winchester/587671002/">to reopen the case</a>, assisting local agencies as they re-investigated. Investigators soon found numerous issues with the original conclusions about Mike’s disappearance and alleged death. For one thing, his boat was found with the engine off with a full gas tank, but if he had fallen off the boat while the engine was still running, it would have continued to run until the gas ran out. It was also odd that Mike had allegedly gone duck hunting by himself that day, when he usually went with friends.
Soon, the alligator theory – that Mike had drowned and his body was eaten by alligators – was debunked. <a href="https://www.evergladesfoundation.org/post/9-amazing-things-you-didn-t-know-about-alligators">Alligators become dormant in the winter</a> when the temperatures drop and the water is too cold. Even if a gator had acted contrary to its normal behavior, some part of the body would have been left behind, yet nothing was found.
Despite this information, the case was closed again. Years went by, but Cheryl Williams refused to give up on her son. Then, in 2010, when police were made aware of the insurance money associated with Mike&#8217;s death, the case was reclassified as &#8220;suspicious.&#8221;
Things finally started to unravel in 2012, when Denise and Brian Winchester separated. Three years later, in 2015, Denise filed for divorce, which Winchester opposed. Winchester was ordered to comply with the divorce, and was told to submit an appraisal for the couple’s house by August 2016.
Denise later told police that on the day the appraisal was due, she was sitting in her car outside her accounting job at Florida State University when Winchester climbed over the back seat of her car and started yelling at her to drive, producing a gun. She drove to a CVS parking lot, ignoring where Winchester told her to go. He then told her he was going to kill himself, insisting he had nothing to live for if Denise went through with the divorce. She calmed him down and dropped him off at his truck, promising not to go to the police after he apologized. She then headed straight for the police to report the incident.
Winchester was charged with kidnapping, domestic assault, and armed burglary, and Denise obtained protection orders against him. Cheryl expressed hope that the new development would find the answers to what happened to her son 16 years earlier.
&#8220;[Winchester’s] not going to let Denise run around alone with all that money,&#8221; Cheryl told the Daily news, referring to the life insurance money Denise collected after Mike disappeared. &#8220;I&#8217;m praying he doesn&#8217;t commit suicide, I&#8217;m praying he&#8217;ll tell us what actually happened.&#8221;
And Winchester did tell.
In October 2017, he pleaded no contest to kidnapping Denise and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, NBC News<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/florida-woman-gets-life-sentence-husband-s-death-was-initially-n968631"> reported</a>. The day after Winchester was sentenced, Florida Department of Law Enforcement special agent Mark Perez announced at a press conference that they had found Mike Williams’ body – and that he had been murdered.
It was later reported that Winchester had entered a plea agreement in exchange for immunity for his role in Mike’s death, and he told police that he and Denise planned to murder Mike, collect his life insurance, and “live happily ever after.” Winchester also told police where to find Mike’s body, saying he placed it there after he shot his best friend. He said he and Denise were having an affair for three years before coming up with the plan to murder Mike so that Denise’s image wouldn’t be tarnished by a divorce – and so they could cash in on the life insurance.
During one of three recorded statements Winchester made to investigators, he explained how Denise was the one to set the murder plot in motion.
“I was manipulated in ways I didn’t know at the time,” he said, according to the statements, which were obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat through a public records request.
“I had a good wife, I had a kid and I had Denise on the side. This is messed up thinking, but in my mind, I had it pretty good,” Winchester said. “Denise and Mike, on the other hand, they were at each other’s throats and she had two million reasons for this to happen.”
Winchester added that Mike was suspicious about his wife and unhappy at his job and in his marriage, wanting a major life change that Denise didn’t.
“Denise was getting worried that things were going to blow up,” Winchester said in the recordings.
Denise, who Winchester said was “ultra-concerned about the way she appears to the world,” did not want a divorce to tarnish her image, making murder more appealing.
Winchester said the original plan was for he and his wife, Kathy, to go boating with Mike and Denise, where some kind of “accident” would occur, leaving Winchester and Denise as the only survivors. Winchester said he refused this plan because he didn’t want to kill Kathy, the mother of his child. The next plan was for Winchester and Mike to go hunting but for only Winchester to return alive.
“Denise has this thing where she gets people to do stuff for her and she minimizes her guilt or conscience or whatever in it,” Winchester told investigators. “She wanted it all to be on me and not on her, and she wanted in her mind a scenario where it wasn’t a murder but it was an accident.”
Denise was arrested on May 8, 2018, as she left her job at Florida State University. She was charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and accessory after the fact. Her attorney, Ethan Way, denied the accusations against Denise and insisted Winchester acted on his own.
&#8220;Brian Winchester got the sweetheart deal of the century,&#8221; Way <a href="https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/06/01/murder-marriage-confession-details-plot-kill-mike-williams/651881002/">told</a> the Tallahassee Democrat. &#8220;He can say whatever he wants at this point. He has license to make up whatever he wants to make up.&#8221;
Denise was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. That conviction was overturned, but her conviction for conspiracy to commit murder was upheld and she was ordered to serve out her full 30-year sentence. Her attorney argued that she was a minor participant in her husband’s death in 2000, but Leon County Circuit Judge Kevin J. Carroll argued otherwise, the Tallahassee Democrat <a href="https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/state/2021/09/09/denise-williams-convicted-wife-mike-williams-murder-resentenced-30-years/5774312001/">reported</a>.
“I don’t find she was a relatively minor participant in the conspiracy to kill Mike Williams,” Carroll said at the time. “Mrs. Williams could have stopped this on December 16 as she had done before. This case is a tragedy. This case is a waste and it didn’t have to happen.”
Mike’s mother, Cheryl, testified against Denise at the re-sentencing, asking the court not to “show her any mercy.”
“Mike suffered horribly,” Cheryl told the judge. “For the rest of my life, when I try to go to sleep, I see my son clinging to a stump in the freezing water. Please don’t show her any mercy. She didn’t show my son any mercy. She took him away from his daughter, family and friends.&#8221;

Readers Pass – Short – True Crime- Mike Williams16x9 (1)

The Murder Of Mike Williams: Conspiracy, Betrayal, And A Mother Who Never Gave Up

Murder

Readers Pass

True Crime

Resident Assistants (RAs) at Florida State University (FSU) were given implicit bias tests as homework to reapply to be an RA.
Florida’s Conservative Voice (FCV) <a href="https://flconservativevoice.com/fsu-implements-critical-race-theory-test-for-housing-applicants/">obtained</a> screenshots of the tests from an unnamed RA they described as a “whistleblower.” The text, according to the outlet, asks questions such as “How warm or cold do you feel towards Black people?” and whether they “Prefer white people to Black People.”
For the “How warm” question, participants are given a scale of 0 to 10 with a confusing set of possible feelings, including “extremely cold,” “very cold,” “moderately cold,” “somewhat cold,” “slightly cold,” and “neither warm nor cold,” with corresponding answers for the “warm” side of the scale. There is no way for people to explain their answer, such as those who don’t skin color to determine how they will treat them.
The preference question is similar, with a list of statements regarding race preferences including “I strongly prefer White people to Black people” and “I like White People and Black people equally.” Again, there is no place for students to explain answers such as they don’t know whether they will like someone solely based on their skin color before knowing anything about them.
FCV noted that Lexie McGarvey, program coordinator for training and recruitment at FSU, assigned the test as “homework” prior to a zoom meeting. She also claimed it was “very important information.”
FSU told the outlet that the implicit bias test was “not tied to employment” for University Housing staff or resident assistants.
FSU <a href="https://www.thecollegefix.com/fsu-assigns-implicit-bias-test-as-homework-to-ras/">told</a> The College Fix that the test was about getting RAs to understand their implicit bias and was not required as a condition of employment.
“The test was used to facilitate dialogue that focused on bias as a general concept during a staff meeting for resident assistants. University Housing staff and resident assistants are not required to take the Harvard Implicit Association Test,” Amy Farnum-Patronis, director of news and digital communications at FSU, told The Fix in an email. “Completing the test is not tied to employment, nor is it required or used for student housing assignments or any other purpose.”
As The Fix noted, the “Harvard Implicit Association Test claims to measure the amount of racial bias of the test-taker, although critics of the exam argue the test itself is biased for its assumption that all people have implicit biases.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R-FL) Press Secretary Christina Pushaw told The Fix that the implicit bias test was a symbol of a larger issue at colleges and universities.
“Unfortunately, racial Marxist ideologies like CRT have infected many institutions, from schools to corporations,” Pushaw told the outlet. “Regardless of how rare or common it is, even one instance of discriminatory indoctrination is too much.”
The Fix also noted that implicit bias tests are used at numerous colleges and universities across the country, including the University of Iowa and the University of Oregon.

Implicit bias is shown on the conceptual photo using the text

University Assigns Resident Assistants Implicit Bias Test As Homework

Implicit Bias

Progressive students at Florida State University (FSU) are attacking Ben Shapiro, editor emeritus of The Daily Wire and host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” ahead of a planned speech on campus.
Shapiro is expected to speak on November 15 at the Tucker Civic Center’s Exhibition Hall in front of a capacity 1,500-person audience. Tickets to the event, which is free to enter, were quickly claimed after they were made available, partly due to bot attacks. The event’s organizers, FSU College Republicans and FSU’s Institute of Politics, plan to have a standby line for guests without tickets to fill the seats that were taken by bots, according to <a href="https://floridapolitics.com/archives/471310-ben-shapiro-to-speak-at-fsu-nov-15/">Florida Politics</a>.
“The past three executive boards have worked to bring Ben Shapiro to Tallahassee and this year Young America’s Foundation has chosen Florida State to host,&#8221; the College Republicans said in a statement to the <a href="https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2021/11/08/ben-shapiro-speak-florida-state-university-next-week-tallahassee-leon-county-speaker-lecture/6337564001/">Tallahassee Democrat</a>.
&#8220;We are excited for this opportunity and can’t wait for Ben to share conservative ideas with FSU students and the Tallahassee community.&#8221;
Ahead of Shapiro’s speech, FSU’s branch of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), a socialist college group, released a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/tallysds/photos/a.2048143385249080/4636686819728044/">statement</a> condemning Shapiro as “violently racist, homophobic, transphobic, and xenophobic.” The statement did not cite any examples to support its claims. SDS is also aiding another campus progressive group, Students for Justice in Palestine, plan a protest for the day Shapiro is scheduled to speak.
SDS called Shapiro as well as The Daily Wire “far-right” despite the conservative commentator being the <a href="https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/documents/assets/pdf/press-center/CR_4862_Journalism-Task-Force_v2.pdf">top target</a> of antisemitism on Twitter among journalists in 2016, according to the Anti-Defamation League. SDS also took issue with Shapiro’s stance against Critical Race Theory, which is rooted in Marxism and suggests that most U.S. institutions today are rooted in racism, being taught in schools.
SDS concluded its statement calling on FSU President Richard McCullough to cancel the event to prove the university’s commitment to “equity, diversity, and inclusion.”
The university has remained committed to allowing the event to take place. FSU spokeswoman Amy Farnum-Patronis told the Tallahassee Democrat that FSU “is committed to promoting an environment where the entire community can freely discuss and exchange different beliefs and opinions.”
“FSU encourages recognized student organizations to invite different individuals and groups to speak on campus, and they have the right to do so, even if other students disagree with the ideas that may be presented,” she added.
Read SDS’s complete statement condemning Shapiro below:
<blockquote>On November 15, Florida State University, FSUGOP, and YAF will host far-right media figure Ben Shapiro at the Tucker Civic Center. This is extremely concerning, as Shapiro has a long history of being violently racist, homophobic, transphobic, and xenophobic. From arguing that homosexuality should remain in the DSM as a mental illness to staunchly reinforcing strict gender binaries on all aspects of society, Shapiro has shown that he stands against true freedom of expression and that his presence is antagonistic to the LGBTQ+ community, both on and off-campus. As a contributor and editor of far-right publications like Breitbart and Daily Wire, Shapiro has affirmed white supremacy by pushing back against “Critical Race Theory” (in other words, a correct telling of US History) and decrying systemic racism as a baseless belief. Shapiro is also a steadfast defender of the settler-colonial Israeli apartheid state, which has been engaged in the displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians for decades.
In light of recent acts of racism and hate speech on FSU’s campus, the presence of Ben Shapiro should absolutely not be tolerated by students, faculty, and administration.
SDS condemns the university’s decision to allow Ben Shapiro to spread reactionary propaganda on campus. Additionally, we call on all progressive student organizations to stand in opposition to the platforming of this racist commentator. For too long FSU’s administration has encouraged racism, discrimination, and hate in the FSU community; this must end now! President McCullough claims to care about equity, diversity, and inclusion. If this is true, he should have no problem fulfilling the demands of Students for a Democratic Society: do not allow Ben Shapiro to appear on FSU’s campus on November 15 or any other day. No Fascists on our campus!</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/google-is-teaching-employees-that-listening-to-ben-shapiro-leads-to-genocide">Google Is Teaching Employees That Listening To Ben Shapiro Leads To ‘Genocide’</a>

Ben Shapiro

College Progressives Attack Ben Shapiro, Plan Protests Ahead Of Florida State University Speech

Police in Tallahassee, Florida, broke up a party near Florida State University (FSU) where approximately 1,000 people were in attendance over the weekend.
According to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TallyPD/posts/3506756399386997" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a statement posted on Facebook</a>, the Tallahassee Police Department claimed that they received dozens of calls complaining about large gatherings in the area, including one party where there were nearly 700 vehicles, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/28/us/florida-state-party-police-trnd/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according to CNN</a>, .
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Police officers in Tallahassee, home of Florida State University, responded to more than a dozen calls in reference to large crowds last weekend, including a gathering involving more than 1,000 people gathered outside along with 700 vehicles, police say <a href="https://t.co/p7vJfKiAXR">https://t.co/p7vJfKiAXR</a>
&mdash; CNN (@CNN) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1310836982852005889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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The police department&#8217;s statement read:
<blockquote>This weekend, the Tallahassee Police Department responded to more than a dozen calls for service in reference to large crowds gathering.
The crowds ranged in size, including one with approximately 700 vehicles and more than 1,000 people gathered outside at the Tenn Street Apartments, located at 600 Dixie Drive, just before midnight. Most of the travel lanes were blocked throughout the complex. Thanks to efforts from TPD’s Patrol Bureau and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office helicopter, officers were able to safely disperse the crowd.
While most of the crowds this weekend dispersed without incident, one ended with gunfire.
On Sunday, Sept. 27, just before 5 a.m., a crowd gathered at the Circle K, located at 2807 S. Monroe St. A dispute broke out, resulting in gunfire. Initial information indicates multiple shots were fired from different weapons. Several cars in and around the parking lot were struck. The shooting continued north on S. Monroe Street. Officers located additional evidence of the shooting on the 2500 block of S. Monroe St. Two people were injured in the shooting. The victims, both adult males, are currently being treated at local hospitals. One victim was treated and released; the other is in serious but stable condition.
Investigators ask anyone who may have witnessed the incident on S. Monroe Street, but did not speak with an officer on scene, or anyone with information about the shooting to please call 850-891-4200. They may also remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 850-574-TIPS.
This is an active investigation, and updates will be provided as they become available.</blockquote>
FSU President John Thrasher said in a Sept. 18 letter to students, &#8220;The choices you make don&#8217;t just impact you. They affect your friends, families, professors, FSU staff, and the Tallahassee community at large, as well as our ability to hold in-person classes and future events and provide campus services.&#8221;
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier proposed a &#8220;bill of rights&#8221; for college students that would offer them the leeway to party despite social distancing measures. &#8220;That&#8217;s what college kids do, and they&#8217;re at low risk,&#8221; DeSantis said, according to <a href="https://www.news4jax.com/news/florida/2020/09/25/desantis-proposes-college-bill-of-rights-to-party-in-florida/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CNN affiliate WJXT</a>. &#8220;And I just think that we&#8217;ve got to be reasonable about this and really focus the efforts on where the most significant risk is.&#8221;
“I just think that we’ve got to be reasonable about this and really focus the efforts on where the most significant risk is,” DeSantis added.
<a href="http://www.floridahealth.gov/?_ga=2.82145366.1718718468.1601388514-652025112.1601388514" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">According</a> to the Florida Department of Health, there have been 704,568 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 14,143 deaths in Florida as of Sept. 29.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/purdue-suspends-14-for-holding-party-during-coronavirus-pandemic" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Purdue Suspends 14 For Holding Party During Coronavirus Pandemic</a>

Police Break Up 1,000-Person Party Near Florida State University

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A Catholic student at Florida State University who was serving as student senate president at Florida State University is suing the university and student senate officials at the school because he was forced out of his position after stating in a private group chat that “BlackLivesMatter.com, Reclaim the Block, and the ACLU all advocate for things that are explicitly anti-Catholic.”
Jack Denton, a rising senior at FSU, is a member of the Catholic Student Union, whose members participate in a group chat which discusses event information, making prayer requests, and current events. On June 3, 2020, after noting that a student had shared a link to a video on YouTube that raised advertising and donation revenue for several organizations derived in part from each time a person views the video while another student shared a list of the video’s beneficiaries, Denton wrote, “The various funds on that list are fine causes as far as I know, but everyone should be aware that BlackLivesMatter.com, Reclaim the Block, and the ACLU all advocate for things that are explicitly anti-Catholic.”
When he was asked to clarify his remarks, Denton added, “BlackLivesMatter.com fosters ‘a queer-affirming network’ and defends transgenderism. The ACLU defends laws protecting abortion facilities and sued states that restrict access to abortion. Reclaim the Block claims less police will make our communities safer and advocates for cutting PDs’ budgets. This is a little less explicit, but I think it’s contrary to the Church’s teaching on the common good.”
He added,“I don’t mean to anger anyone – I know this is a very emotional topic. However, it is important to know what you’re supporting when you’re Catholic. If I stay silent while my brothers and sisters may be supporting an organization that promotes grave evils, I have sinned through my silence. I love you all, and I want us all to be aware of the truth. As far as [whether] it’s a religious issue or not, there isn’t an aspect of our lives that isn’t religious, because God wants our whole lives and everything we do to be oriented around him!”
One of Denton’s peers took screenshots of the chat and posted them online; Denton was unaware of that fact.
The same day, during the student senate meeting, one senator made a motion of no-confidence against Denton, stating that she made the motion because she was “offended and scandalized by the rhetoric that Jack Denton used.” She accused Mr. Denton of describing some people as “grave evil” and said that she made her motion “because people who have described me and my community as ‘grave evils’ have done it with the intention to not only hurt me emotionally but to hurt me physically.” Other senators offered other criticisms of Denton for his remarks.
The vote to remove Denton failed, but on June 5, after a <a href="https://www.change.org/p/florida-state-university-remove-jack-denton-from-fsu-student-senate">petition</a> was created to remove Denton from his position that gained over 6,000 signatures and a public campaign was launched, Denton himself called for a special session to hear public statements from the student body and to allow the Senate to entertain a second motion of no-confidence. The senate voted to remove Denton from office.
In the lawsuit, the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing Denton, noted, “The ‘grave evils’ to which Mr. Denton referred are policies that undermine the state’s ability to fulfill its duties of protecting innocent human life and pursue the common good or that promote views of sex, marriage, and gender that are harmful to human beings. Mr. Denton’s comments do not state or imply that any human person is a ‘grave evil.’ Mr. Denton’s belief that all human beings are made in the image of God prohibits him from regarding any person as a ‘grave evil’ even if a person engages in ‘grave evils.’”
The lawsuit notes: &#8220;In accordance with his faith, Mr. Denton believes that all human lives are infinitely valuable because all human beings are made in the image of God.&#8221; It continues:
<blockquote>Mr. Denton believes that it is the state’s duty to protect all innocent human lives from conception until natural death. Mr. Denton believes that legal abortion is inconsistent with the state’s duty to protect innocent human lives from conception until natural death.&#8221;
Mr. Denton believes that it is also the state’s duty to use its legitimate authority to pursue the common good. Mr. Denton believes that, because human beings have sinned and broken fellowship with God, the state must use law enforcement in order to fulfil its duties to protect innocent human life and pursue the common good.
Mr. Denton believes that the state’s use of law enforcement must be fair, constrained by adequate legal processes, and evenhanded. Mr. Denton believes that unjustified use of force is a dereliction of the state’s duties to protect innocent human life and pursue the common good.
Mr. Denton believes that racially-motivated, unjustified use of force is an especially egregious violation of the state’s duties to protect innocent human life and pursue the common good. Mr. Denton also believes that the contemporary movement to defund the police would, if successful, undermine the state’s ability to fulfil its duties of protecting innocent human life and pursue the common good. Mr. Denton believes that human beings are male and female.
Mr. Denton believes that God created marriage as a gift to humanity and as a permanent, exclusive, and monogamous union between one man and one woman. Mr. Denton believes that God gave sexual intercourse as a gift to humanity to be enjoyed exclusively within marriage as God designed it.
Mr. Denton believes that honoring God’s design for sex and marriage is conducive to human flourishing, while rejecting that design is harmful. Mr. Denton believes that affirming human gender as male and female consistent with biological sex is conducive to human flourishing, while rejecting biological sex and affirming subjective gender identities is harmful.</blockquote>
The lawsuit points out, “The Student Senate and the University deprived Mr. Denton of the ability to seek recourse from the Student Supreme Court.Mr. Denton has tried to resolve this matter through the internal procedures of the SGA and the University, but Defendants have prevented him from doing so. On June 18, 2020, Mr. Denton filed a complaint with the Student Supreme Court alleging that the Senate’s removal violated its own procedures, the Student Body Statutes, the Student Body Constitution, and federal law. The Student Supreme Court took no notice of Mr. Denton’s appeal.”

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Catholic Student Senate President Forced Out After Stating BlackLivesMatter.com, Reclaim The Block, ACLU, ‘Advocate For Things That Are Explicitly Anti-Catholic’

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