At least 14 broadcast stations in Florida were accused of criminal conduct and a dozen were then sued by the state’s Republican Party on Oct. 16, 2026, in a push to prevent further airing of a political advertisement produced by state Democrats.
Benjamin Gibson, an attorney for the state Republicans, sent a cease and desist letter that day to the managers for stations belonging to Cox Media, Fox, Graham Media, Hearst, Ion, New World, Nexstar, Scripps and Tegna.
He argued that, by televising an ad that referenced a grand jury finding about alleged misappropriation of state funds by the state’s Republican administration, the stations violated state laws protecting the confidentiality of testimony and findings, and they were additionally liable for the ad’s purported defamatory content.
“An advertisement telling viewers that a grand jury ‘found’ anything, presents to the public, as authoritative, a finding that is expunged and legally void,” he wrote, referring to an Oct. 7 court ruling striking the grand jury report.
Gibson also noted that a copy of the letter was sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and other relevant prosecutorial authorities, including several state attorneys.
According to the Miami Herald, 13th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Suzy Lopez, whose jurisdiction encompasses Hillsborough County and the city of Tampa, then sent a similar letter that day to several Tampa Bay-area outlets — including WTVT, Spectrum Bay News 9, Telemundo-owned WRMD-CD and WTSP.
The letter noted that Lopez was “writing to ensure that you are fully aware of the potential criminal consequences” of broadcasting the ad. “Whether to proceed is your decision, but you do so at your own legal risk,” she added.
Brian Haas, the state attorney for the 10th Judicial Circuit, sent an identical letter to stations in Hardee, Highland and Polk counties, the Herald reported. The newspaper did not specify which stations were targeted.
The state Republican Party’s lawsuit, filed in Highlands County Circuit Court the evening of Oct. 16, asks the court to rule that further distribution of the ad would be unlawful and to bar the stations from televising it. The suit names a dozen TV stations, the Florida Democratic Party and several of its candidates.
Freedom of the Press Foundation, of which the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is a project, wrote that the suit not only violates the First Amendment but also threatens voters’ right to information about a matter of public interest ahead of an election.
“Whether related grand jury records were improperly released has no bearing whatsoever on the First Amendment rights of the press,” FPF’s Deputy Director of Advocacy Adam Rose said in a statement. “The Florida GOP should know that news outlets cannot be punished or censored for publishing information from whistleblowers, especially when the appellate court blamed a government employee for failing to keep it secret.”
This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.