GANNETT's Incredible Shrinking St. Augustine Record Runs Two Day-Old News on Alleged Capitol Insurrectionist from St. Augustine, JOHN STEVEN ANDERSON

On February 26, 2021, United States Magistrate Judge Monte C. Richardson ordered $25,000 bail for St. Augustine resident John Anderson, 61, who was arrested January 6, 2021 inside the U.S. Capitol.  

Yet the technically challenged tatterdemalion St. Augustine Record on February 27, 2021 carried a page-one print article that was written and published by sister GANNETT newspaper Florida Times Union two (2) days earlier, reporting that Mr. Anderson was still in jail, and that a hearing would be held "tomorrow." ]

For the second time this week, the undercapitalized St. Augustine Record, owned by Wall Street hedge funds, reported inaccurately, based on computer errors by uninspired, underpaid employees in Texas and NY.  

The earlier error reported on its website a St. Johns County Legislative Delegation meeting "tomorrow," when the meeting was held December 19, 2020.

Again, Mr. Anderson is out on bail and no longer incarcerated.

Who wants to buy a clock and a calendar for hedge fund owned GANNETT's maladroit Board of Directors, counting down the days to when they go bankrupt?

Docket sheet here:

U.S. District Court
Middle District of Florida (Jacksonville)
CRIMINAL DOCKET FOR CASE #: 3:21-mj-01089-MCR All Defendants

Case title: USA v. Anderson Other court case number:  1:21-mj-00239 District of Columbia

Date Filed: 02/25/2021 Date Terminated: 02/26/2021

---

Assigned to: Magistrate Judge Monte C. Richardson
Defendant (1)
John Anderson  TERMINATED: 02/26/2021	represented by	Andrew Taylor Morgan   Canan Law   1030 N. Ponce de Leon Blvd.   St Augustine, FL 32084   904/824-9402   Fax: 904/829-9269   Email: amorgan@cananlaw.com  LEAD ATTORNEY  ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED  Designation: Retained Daniel K. Hilbert   Canan Law   1030 N. Ponce de Leon Blvd.   St Augustine, FL 32084   904/824-9402   Fax: 904/824-9269   Email: DHILBERT@CANANLAW.COM  LEAD ATTORNEY  ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED  Designation: Retained Marina Medvin   Medvin Law PLC   916 Prince Street   Alexandria, VA 22314   888-886-4127   Email: marina@medvinlaw.com  LEAD ATTORNEY  ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED  Designation: Retained
Pending Counts		Disposition
None
Highest Offense Level (Opening)
None
Terminated Counts		Disposition
None
Highest Offense Level (Terminated)
None
Complaints		Disposition
18:111A.M Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers and Aiding and Abetting; , 18:231.F CIVIL DISORDER and Aiding and Abetting; 18:641.M THEFT/EMBEZZLEMENT OF U. S. PROPERTY and Aiding and Abetting; 18:1752.P Entering and Remaining in a RESTRICTED BUILDING OR GROUNDS; , 40:5104E.M VIOLENT ENTRY AND DISORDERLY CONDUCT ON CAPITOL GROUNDS

---

Plaintiff
USA	represented by	Frank Merrill Talbot , II   US Attorney's Office - FLM   Suite 700   300 N Hogan St   Jacksonville, FL 32202   904/301-6300   Fax: 904/301-6310   Email: frank.m.talbot@usdoj.gov  LEAD ATTORNEY  ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED  Designation: Retained

Date Filed	#	Docket Text
02/25/2021	1	Arrest pursuant to Rule 5(c)(2) of John Anderson from the District of Columbia. (SHS) (Entered: 02/25/2021)
02/25/2021	2	Minute Entry proceedings held before Magistrate Judge Monte C. Richardson: INITIAL APPEARANCE in Rule 5(c)(3) proceedings held on 2/25/2021 as to John Anderson from the District of Columbia. Appearance entered by Daniel K. Hilbert,Andrew Taylor Morgan for John Anderson on behalf of defendant. (Digital) (SHS) (Entered: 02/25/2021)
02/25/2021	3	ORAL MOTION for Bond by USA as to John Anderson. (SHS) (Entered: 02/25/2021)
02/25/2021	4	ORDER OF TEMPORARY DETENTION as to John Anderson Detention Hearing set for 2/26/2021 at 02:30 PM in Jacksonville Courtroom 5 C before Magistrate Judge Monte C. Richardson. Signed by Magistrate Judge Monte C. Richardson on 2/25/2021. (SHS) (Entered: 02/25/2021)
02/25/2021	5	ORDER as to John Anderson: Pursuant to the Due Process Protections Act, the Court confirms the United States' obligation to produce all exculpatory evidence to the defendant pursuant to Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), and its progeny and orders the United States to do so. Failing to do so in a timely manner may result in consequences, including exclusion of evidence, adverse jury instructions, dismissal of charges, contempt proceedings, and sanctions. Signed by Judge Timothy J. Corrigan on 12/1/2020. (SHS) (Entered: 02/25/2021)
02/26/2021	6	MOTION for Marina Medvin to appear pro hac vice, Special Admission fee paid, Receipt No. 113A-17934805 for $150 by John Anderson. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Desig + Consent Act Counsel, # 2 Exhibit Special Admission Atty Certif)(Hilbert, Daniel) (Entered: 02/26/2021)
02/26/2021	7	NOTICE OF ATTORNEY APPEARANCE: Daniel K. Hilbert appearing for John Anderson (Hilbert, Daniel) (Entered: 02/26/2021)
02/26/2021	8	Amended MOTION for Marina Medvin to appear pro hac vice by John Anderson. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Desig + Consent Act Counsel, # 2 Exhibit Special Admission Atty Certif)(Hilbert, Daniel) (Entered: 02/26/2021)
02/26/2021	9	ENDORSED ORDER granting 23 Defendants' Amended Motion for Admission of Marina Medvin. If Marina Medvin has not already done so, she shall immediately register for a login and password for electronic filing at the Court's website at www.flmd.uscourts.gov. (1). Signed by Magistrate Judge Monte C. Richardson on 2/26/2021. (SHS) (Entered: 02/26/2021)
02/26/2021	10	MOTION for Miscellaneous Relief, specifically Defendant's Position on Pretrial Release by John Anderson. (Hilbert, Daniel) (Entered: 02/26/2021)
02/26/2021	11	NOTICE OF ATTORNEY APPEARANCE: Andrew Taylor Morgan appearing for John Anderson (Morgan, Andrew) (Entered: 02/26/2021)
02/26/2021		FEE PAID. Fee for pro hac vice appearance, Receipt No. 113A-17937770 for $150 paid. Special Admission for Non-Resident Attorney Marina Medvin (Medvin, Marina) (Entered: 02/26/2021)
02/26/2021	12	Minute Entry proceedings held before Magistrate Judge Monte C. Richardson: Detention Hearing as to John Anderson held on 2/26/2021. (Digital) (SHS) (Entered: 02/26/2021)
02/26/2021	13	WAIVER of Rule 5 & 5.1 Hearings hearing (FILED IN OPEN COURT) by John Anderson. (SHS) (Entered: 02/26/2021)
02/26/2021	14	ORDER Setting Conditions of Release as to John Anderson (1) $25,000.00 - SECURED. Signed by Magistrate Judge Monte C. Richardson on 2/26/2021. (SHS) (Entered: 02/26/2021)
02/26/2021	15	Secured BOND entered as to John Anderson in amount of $ 25,000.00. Receipt # JAX034433. (SHS) (Entered: 02/26/2021)
02/26/2021	16	AFFIDAVIT of exclusive ownership of cash bail by John Anderson in the amount of $ 2,500.00; Receipt # JAX034433. (SHS) (jkl). (Entered: 02/26/2021)
02/26/2021	17	ORDER OF REMOVAL pursuant to Rule 5(c)(3) to the District of Columbia as to John Anderson Signed by Magistrate Judge Monte C. Richardson on 2/26/2021. (SHS) (Entered: 02/26/2021)
02/26/2021		NOTICE to District of Columbia of a Rule 5 or Rule 32 Initial Appearance as to John Anderson regarding your case number: 1:21-mj-00239. Using your PACER account, you may retrieve the docket sheet and any documents via the case number link. No documents/record will be sent. If you require certified copies of any documents please send a request to InterdistrictTransfer_FLMD@flmd.uscourts.gov. If you wish the court to use a different email address in the future, please send a request to update your address to InterdistrictTransfer_TXND@txnd.uscourts.gov. (SHS) (Entered: 02/26/2021)

$48 million False Claims Act settlement by proposed donee of $786,305 in county corporate welfare -- Encompass Health, 3/2/2021 consent agenda #13

 

 Giant multi-billion dollar ENCOMPASS HEALTH has a big payday on the St. Johns County Commission Consent Agenda for March 2, 2021.  Formerly known as HEALTH SOUTH, ENCOMPASS wants some $786,305  to build a rehabilitation facility in St. Johns County,  

It's our money.

Here's my request to County Commissioners to drop the oyster and leave the wharf," as my grandmother would say, enclosing the 2019 USDOJ press release on the $48,000,000 fraud settlement:

-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
....

Sent: Sat, Feb 27, 2021 1:31 pm
Subject: Re: Request No. 2021-31: $48 million False Claims Act settlement by proposed donee of $786,305 corporate welfare -- Encompass Health, 3/2/2021 consent agenda #13

Dear Chairman Blocker, Vice Chairman Dean, Commissioners Smith, Waldron and Whitehurst, and Messrs. McCormack and Conrad:

1. Please send me the requested documents and answer my questions (below). No response yet.  Why?

2. What background investigation and research, if any, did St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners staff do on this applicant for $786,305 in corporate welfare?

3. Would you please be so kind was to table, or delete item 13 from 3/2 Consent Agenda?  Will you kindly reject the proposed wasteful subsidy of $786,305 to a multi-billion dollar health care oligopolist, one that just settled a $48 million False Claims Act with the Justice Department?  It's our money.

4.  Here is the USDOJ press release on $48 million False Claims Act settlement with ENCOMPASS HEALTH, proposed recipient of $786,305 in St. Johns County corporate welfare:    

Department of Justice

Office of Public Affairs

---

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, June 28, 2019

Encompass Health Agrees to Pay $48 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Relating to its Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities

Encompass Health Corporation (formerly known as HealthSouth Corporation), the nation’s largest operator of inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), has agreed to pay $48 million to resolve allegations that some of its IRFs provided inaccurate information to Medicare to maintain their status as an IRF and to earn a higher rate of reimbursement, and that some admissions to its IRFs were not medically necessary.

“This settlement demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that those who participate in federal healthcare programs follow the rules,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “Medicare and Medicaid providers who seek to profit inappropriately at the expense of taxpayers will be held accountable.”

Medicare and Medicaid use information about patients’ diagnoses to determine whether a facility is properly classified as an IRF, and to determine the level of reimbursement the facility is awarded for specific patients. The government alleged that beginning in 2007, in order to insure compliance with Medicare’s rules regarding classification as an IRF, and to increase Medicare reimbursement, some Encompass IRFs falsely diagnosed patients with what they referred to as “disuse myopathy” when there was no clinical evidence for this diagnosis. Additionally, Encompass IRFs allegedly admitted patients who were not eligible for admission to an IRF because they were too sick or disabled to participate in or benefit from intensive inpatient therapy.

“This important civil settlement concludes a lengthy, comprehensive investigation that brought to light a nationwide scheme that the government contends was intended to defraud our fragile public health programs,” said U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez. “In doing so, we confirm our commitment to civil health care fraud enforcement as a key component of the mission of our office.”

The settlements resolve allegations raised in three lawsuits filed by Dr. Emese Simon M.D., a former contract physician employed at an Encompass inpatient rehabilitation facility in Sarasota, Florida; Melissa Higgins the former Director of Therapy Operations at Encompass’s inpatient rehabilitation facility in Arlington, Texas; and Dr. Darius Clarke M.D. the former Medical Director at Encompass’s inpatient rehabilitation facility in Richmond, Virginia, and his company, Restorative Health & Wellness P.L.L.C. The lawsuits were filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery. Here, the whistleblowers collective share of the settlement will be $12.4 million.

The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, the Unite States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.        

The three cases are captioned United States ex rel. Simon, et al. v. HealthSouth Corp., et al.; Case No. 08-CV-236 (M.D. Fla.); United States ex rel. Higgins v. HealthSouth Corp.; Case No. 3:12 CV 2496 (N.D. Tex.); and United States ex rel. Clarke et al. v. HealthSouth Corp.; Case No. 1:12 CV 853 (E.D. Va.). The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. 

Topic(s): 

False Claims Act

Component(s): 

Civil Division

With kindest regards, I am,

Sincerely yours,

Ed Slavin

904-377-4998

www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com

www.edslavin.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>

...
Sent: Thu, Feb 25, 2021 6:39 am
Subject: Request No. 2021-31: $786,305 corporate welfare for Encompass Health, 3/2/2021 consent agenda #13

Dear Ms. Zuberer and Messrs. McCormack and Conrad:
A. Would you please be so kind as to send me today:

1. the Encompass Health grant application? 
2. all communications with Encompass Health?
3. meeting minutes?
4. business cards of Encompass Health or its lobbyists 
5. telephone call notes and readouts? 
6. e-mails?
7. gift reports? 
8. any background investigations of, or research on, Encompass Health, formerly known as HealthSouth? 
9. letters of recommendation for Encompass Health?
10. Communications with FBI or FDLE? 
    

B. Why is this item on the consent agenda? What role in the consent agenda process, if any, was performed by the County Administrator, the County Attorney and the BCC Chair?

https://stjohnsclerk.com/minrec/agendas/2021/030221cd/03-02-21CON13.pdf

C. Why is there no non-discrimination clause in contract?

D. Who wrote, and who approved, this contract?  Please provide all drafts and counter-drafts, including research memos and e-mails on contract formation process.

E. Please send all records today. 

Thank you.

With kindest regards, I am,

Sincerely yours,

Ed Slavin

904-377-4998

www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com

www.edslavin.com

USDOJ Press Release: Encompass Health Agrees to Pay $48 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Relating to its Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities

 Giant multi-billion dollar ENCOMPASS HEALTH has a big payday on the St. Johns County Commission Consent Agenda for March 2, 2021.  Formerly known as HEALTH SOUTH, ENCOMPASS wants some $786,305  to build a rehabilitation facility in St. Johns County,  

It's our money.

Here's the 2019 USDOJ press release on the $48,000,000 fraud settlement:

Department of Justice

Office of Public Affairs

---

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, June 28, 2019

Encompass Health Agrees to Pay $48 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Relating to its Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities

Encompass Health Corporation (formerly known as HealthSouth Corporation), the nation’s largest operator of inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), has agreed to pay $48 million to resolve allegations that some of its IRFs provided inaccurate information to Medicare to maintain their status as an IRF and to earn a higher rate of reimbursement, and that some admissions to its IRFs were not medically necessary.

“This settlement demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that those who participate in federal healthcare programs follow the rules,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “Medicare and Medicaid providers who seek to profit inappropriately at the expense of taxpayers will be held accountable.”

Medicare and Medicaid use information about patients’ diagnoses to determine whether a facility is properly classified as an IRF, and to determine the level of reimbursement the facility is awarded for specific patients. The government alleged that beginning in 2007, in order to insure compliance with Medicare’s rules regarding classification as an IRF, and to increase Medicare reimbursement, some Encompass IRFs falsely diagnosed patients with what they referred to as “disuse myopathy” when there was no clinical evidence for this diagnosis. Additionally, Encompass IRFs allegedly admitted patients who were not eligible for admission to an IRF because they were too sick or disabled to participate in or benefit from intensive inpatient therapy.

“This important civil settlement concludes a lengthy, comprehensive investigation that brought to light a nationwide scheme that the government contends was intended to defraud our fragile public health programs,” said U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez. “In doing so, we confirm our commitment to civil health care fraud enforcement as a key component of the mission of our office.”

The settlements resolve allegations raised in three lawsuits filed by Dr. Emese Simon M.D., a former contract physician employed at an Encompass inpatient rehabilitation facility in Sarasota, Florida; Melissa Higgins the former Director of Therapy Operations at Encompass’s inpatient rehabilitation facility in Arlington, Texas; and Dr. Darius Clarke M.D. the former Medical Director at Encompass’s inpatient rehabilitation facility in Richmond, Virginia, and his company, Restorative Health & Wellness P.L.L.C. The lawsuits were filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery. Here, the whistleblowers collective share of the settlement will be $12.4 million.

The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, the Unite States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.        

The three cases are captioned United States ex rel. Simon, et al. v. HealthSouth Corp., et al.; Case No. 08-CV-236 (M.D. Fla.); United States ex rel. Higgins v. HealthSouth Corp.; Case No. 3:12 CV 2496 (N.D. Tex.); and United States ex rel. Clarke et al. v. HealthSouth Corp.; Case No. 1:12 CV 853 (E.D. Va.). The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. 

Topic(s): 

False Claims Act

Component(s): 

Civil Division

House Passes Sweeping Gay and Transgender Equality Legislation. (NY TIMES)

Great day for the advance of civil and human rights -- a bipartisan House of Representativers vote, ignored by , GANNETT's  incredible let shrinking St. Augustine Record.  

Back in February 1990, in Denver, I helped win American Bar Association House of Delegates passage (after three prior ignominious defeats) of a resolution supporting sexual orientation nondiscrimination laws.  The resolution was passed overwhelmingly, after my suggested compromise definition language was adopted.  Thanks to my late mentor, United States Department of Labor Chief Administrative Law Judge Nahum Litt (1979-1995) who was  a member of the ABA House of Delegates.    

I also represented the plaintiff, Duane David Rinde, in the Rinde v. Woodward & Lothrop case; was invited to write the first article on Gay marriage for an ABA publication; successfully petitioned several local governments to include sexual orientation/gender identity as protected classes, and helped empower the courageous plaintiffs who won a federal court order for Rainbow flags on our historic St. Augustine Bridge of Lions, vindicating First Amendment rights.

Proud to have done my part on GLBTQ rights.  

We are now a Rainbow Nation.  More here:  http://fourowls.blogspot.com/2015/06/rainbow-nation-supreme-court-recognizes.html 

From The New York Times:

House Passes Sweeping Gay and Transgender Equality Legislation

The bill, first passed by the Democratic-led House in 2019, faces a steep climb in the Senate. It was approved as Democrats and Republicans sparred more broadly over transgender rights.

“In most states, L.G.B.T.Q. people can be discriminated against because of who they are, or who they love,” said Representative David Cicilline, an openly gay Democrat from Rhode Island and the lead sponsor of the bill.Credit...Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times

By Catie Edmondson

• Feb. 25, 2021

WASHINGTON — A divided House on Thursday narrowly passed a bill that would extend civil rights protections to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, but the measure faced an uphill battle to enactment, with Republicans almost uniformly opposed.

The legislation, passed 224 to 206 almost entirely along party lines, stands little chance of drawing enough Republican support in the Senate to advance, at least in its current form. It was the second time the Democratic-led House had passed the measure, known as the Equality Act, which seeks to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to add explicit bans on discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in both public and private spaces.

“In most states, L.G.B.T.Q. people can be discriminated against because of who they are, or who they love,” said Representative David Cicilline, an openly gay Democrat from Rhode Island and the lead sponsor. “It is past time for that to change.”

The passage of the legislation came as a broader fight over transgender rights played out on Capitol Hill, with Republicans attacking transgender people and Democrats insisting they warranted the same civil rights protections afforded to anyone else.

In the House, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, the first-term Republican from Georgia who is known for spreading false and bigoted conspiracy theories, referred to the transgender daughter of Representative Marie Newman, Democrat of Illinois, as “your biological son.”

Across the Capitol, Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, attacked Dr. Rachel Levine, a pick for a top health post who would be the first transgender woman to be confirmed by the Senate, at a hearing to consider her nomination.

The confirmation hearing for Dr. Levine, a former Pennsylvania health secretary who President Biden has chosen to be assistant secretary of health, turned briefly combative after Mr. Paul opened his questioning with a tirade about “genital mutilation,” and demanded to know whether she supported gender reassignment surgery and hormone therapy for minors.

“You’re willing to let a minor take things that prevent their puberty, and you think they get that back?” Mr. Paul asked. “You give a woman testosterone enough that she grows a beard — you think she’s going to go back, looking like a woman when you stop the testosterone?”

As the Senate hearing unfolded, Democrats in the House were engaged in a fiery debate of their own. Several Republicans assailed the Equality Act as dangerous, leading one top Democrat, Representative Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, to accuse them of believing that gay and transgender people “are morally inferior, and that firing us should be permitted.”

“Why hide behind the ridiculous, embarrassing, easily debunked arguments, falsehoods, fear-mongering about locker rooms and women’s sports?” said Mr. Maloney, the openly gay chairman of House Democrats’ campaign arm. “Why not just say what they really mean?”

In a landmark decision in June, the Supreme Court ruled that the 1964 civil rights law protects gay and transgender people from workplace discrimination, and that the language of the law, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, also applies to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. House Democrats sought to build on that ruling with the Equality Act, which would expand the scope of civil rights protections beyond workers to consumers at businesses including restaurants, taxi services, gas stations and shelters.

It would also water down the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the 1993 law at the heart of the Hobby Lobby Supreme Court casethat set a high bar for governments to enact laws that “substantially burden” an individual’s freedom to exercise religious beliefs. Those protections have been cited by, for example, bakers or photographers who object to serving same-sex weddings.

Three Republicans — Representative Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Representatives John Katko and Tom Reed, both of New York — joined Democrats to support the bill.

The House first passed the legislation in 2019, but the Republican-controlled Senate at the time refused to take it up. Upon taking office, Mr. Biden encouraged the Democratic-controlled Congress to “swiftly pass” the bill, calling it a “critical step toward ensuring that America lives up to our foundational values of equality.”

But 10 Republicans would need to join Democrats to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to pass legislation under normal Senate procedures, a level of support its proponents are unlikely to muster, unless substantial changes are made.

Senator Susan Collins of Maine, the only Republican in that chamber to co-sponsor the legislation during the last Congress, told The Washington Blade that she would not do so again, citing the lack of certain revisions she had requested. Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, has indicated he would not support the legislation, saying it lacked “strong religious liberty protections.”

In the House, consideration of the measure devolved into bitter acrimony.

In emotional remarks in support of the bill, Ms. Newman said she was fighting to advance the legislation to ensure that people like her transgender daughter would no longer face discrimination. Ms. Greene responded on Twitter, saying Ms. Newman’s daughter did not “belong in my daughters’ bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams.”

The back-and-forth came after Ms. Newman had earlier posted video of herself putting up a transgender pride flag outside her office on Capitol Hill, so Ms. Greene, who has the office across the hall, would have to “look at it every time she opens her door,” Ms. Newman said. In response, Ms. Greene circulated her own video in which she put up a poster of her own outside her office that bore the phrase: “There are TWO genders: MALE & FEMALE.”

Ms. Greene may have been the most vocal in her opposition to the legislation, but it drew fierce criticism from nearly all House Republicans, many of whom argued that the protections were overly expansive and infringed on religious freedom.

“This is a government using its power to tell us to bow down to the will of a cultural elite in this town who want to tell us what we’re supposed to believe,” said Representative Chip Roy, Republican of Texas. “We’re not going to do that.”

Others claimed that the legislation could imperil women’s rights, an argument long used by conservatives to oppose transgender rights legislation, despite the fact that the bill contains protections explicitly to prevent discrimination against women.

Before the vote, Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio, approvingly shared on Twitter a Wall Street Journal op-ed that asserted that the measure would “threaten the existence of women’s prisons, public-school girls’ locker rooms, and women’s and girls’ sports teams.”

“One of the many reasons to oppose this bill,” Mr. Jordan wrote.

The legislation has won the support of several civil rights groups as well as high-profile leaders in the business community, including Coca-Cola, IBM, Microsoft and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg contributed reporting.

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St. Johns County Republican Party Sponsored January 5-7 "Stop the Steal" Insurrectionist Bus Trip to Washington, D.C.

 

One local man, JOHN STEVEN ANDERSON, was charged with five federal felonies, but he was empowered by the ST. JOHNS COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY, which sponsored a bus trip.

Frugal, they stayed overnight in Rocky Mount, N.C., saving money on hotel bills.

They may need the money to pay the Canan law firm's criminal defense bills.

A discount was offered for anyone returning for the January 20, 2021 Inauguration.

JOHN STEVEN ANDERSON charged with U.S. Capitol insurrection case

Alleged U.S. Capitol insurrectionist JOHN STEVEN ANDERSON of St. Johns County is in federal custody tonight, arrested and charged with five federal felonies. 

The docket sheet reports the following charges: 18:111A.M Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers and Aiding and Abetting; 

18:231.F CIVIL DISORDER and Aiding and Abetting; 

18:641.M THEFT/EMBEZZLEMENT OF U. S. PROPERTY and Aiding and Abetting; 

18:1752.P Entering and Remaining in a RESTRICTED BUILDING OR GROUNDS; , 

40:5104E.M VIOLENT ENTRY AND DISORDERLY CONDUCT ON CAPITOL GROUNDS

A 2:30 pm February 26, 2021 bail hearing is set before a federal magistrate judge, the Honorable Monte C. Richardson.

His criminal defense attorneys are unsuccessful former Circuit Court Judge candidate Daniel Hilbert and Andrew Morgan of the law firm owned by School Board member Patrick Canan.

ANDERSON was arrested and released in January after entering the U.S. Capitol.

ANDERSON's middle name was not given in January news media reports and his information is still not on the District of Colimbai U.S. Attorney's website for insurrectionists.

This lack of information led GANNETT's incurious St. Augustine Record to do nothing to learn which of some ten local John Andersons was arrested.  When I inquired last month of the overwhelmed U.S. Capitol Police, there was no response.  Thus, unlike the Record, I did not report the arrest, lest it besmirch nine other John Andersons who did not join the Capitol insurrection.  The name John Anderson is shared with a former presidential candidate and his son, John, Jr., who stole a Charles Darwin letter from the Smithsonian Institution.

It would be helpful if the FBI released full names of arrestees and if local news organizations actually covered the news, for a change.

Courthouse records on the Clerk of Court website show ANDERSON involved in contentious divorce litigation alleging  domestic violence, as well as dismissed charges of assault, and fines paid for driving without wearing a seatbelt, driving with an expired license tag.

The Florida Times Union reported February 25, 2021:

St. Augustine man remains jailed after first court appearance in Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot, faces multiple counts

By Dan Scanlan

Florida Times-Union

A St. Augustine man remains behind bars after his first appearance before a federal magistrate Thursday in Jacksonville on multiple charges in the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol.

John Steven Anderson, 61, will stay in custody until his Friday detention hearing after U.S. Magistrate Monte Richardson heard federal prosecutors give a synopsis of the charges based on police bodycam and other video.

"The video is chaotic," Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Talbot told the judge. 

Anderson's arrest was reported a day after the invasion of the Capitol in Washington. Dozens of rioters are being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Wearing a brown T-shirt and khaki pants, the balding, bespeckled man was fully shackled when he was led into the courtroom. He faces federal charges of obstruction of law enforcement, theft of government property, entering a restricted building, violent entry to the Capitol and assaulting a law enforcement officer. Those charges could bring him up to 8½ years in prison and a total $550,000 fine.

Talbot recommended $25,000 bail, a mandate that he surrender his four rifles and three handguns to a third party and travel restrictions to only the Middle District of Florida. Richardson opted to remand Anderson into the custody of U.S. deputy marshals until his detention hearing.

Talbot said video shows Anderson pushing up against the Capitol entrance with a large group of people. Then at some point he was "able to get a shield"  from a police officer. "He is the one who physically took" the shield, Talbot said.

Police bodycam video shows him confronting law enforcement who demand he retreat and give the shield back. 

Anderson did not give the shield back and was pepper-sprayed, the video shows. He apparently has asthma and collapsed at that point, tended to by medical officials then given a citation and released.

Anderson's defense attorneys tried to get the recommended $25,000 bail reduced saying "he is not a wealthy man."

Others arrested from Northeast Florida include 39-year-old Adam Avery Honeycutt of Clay County, charged on Feb. 12 with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building without lawful authority, as well as violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Arrested on similar charges in recent weeks include Middleburg couple Rachael Lynn Pert, 40, and Dana Joe Winn, 45, as well as Macclenny resident Bradley Weeks, charged on Jan. 21 after he was seen on video outside and inside the Capitol, according to court documents.

A joint session of Congress had convened at the Capitol to certify the Electoral College vote count of the 2020 presidential election, and the House and Senate had adjourned to separate chambers when protesters began storming the building. By 2:20 p.m. members of the House and Senate as well as then-Vice President Mike Pence had to evacuate the chambers as protesters breached the barricades around the Capitol, shoving past police as they tried to keep the crowd away.

Defendants must first appear before a judge in the district where their arrests took place.

Dan Scanlan: (904) 359-4549

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First Coast News reported February 25:

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – John Anderson, a St. Augustine man who was arrested on the day of the riot at the U.S. Capitol, went before a federal judge Thursday.

Anderson, 61, is accused of unlawful entry into the Capitol. A judge Thursday ordered Anderson to remain in custody until his Friday detention hearing.

Federal prosecutors say police body cam shows Anderson in a large group of people while holding an officer’s shield. After repeatedly asking him to give back the shield, an officer sprayed him with an unknown substance.

Anderson claimed he had asthma and went into a medical distress. He was then cited and arrested, according to the FBI.

Federal agents have not released photos of the man, including his mugshot.

Anderson has a total of five charges against him. The judge scheduled Anderson’s detention hearing for Friday at 2:30 pm.

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Here is the docket sheet:

U.S. District Court
Middle District of Florida (Jacksonville)
CRIMINAL DOCKET FOR CASE #: 3:21-mj-01089-MCR All Defendants

Case title: USA v. Anderson Other court case number:  1:21-mj-00239 District of Columbia

Date Filed: 02/25/2021

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Assigned to: Magistrate Judge Monte C. Richardson
Defendant (1)
John Anderson	represented by	Andrew Taylor Morgan   Canan Law   1030 N. Ponce de Leon Blvd.   St Augustine, FL 32084   904/824-9402   Fax: 904/829-9269   Email: amorgan@cananlaw.com  LEAD ATTORNEY  ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED  Designation: Retained Daniel K. Hilbert   Canan Law   1030 N. Ponce de Leon Blvd.   St Augustine, FL 32084   904/824-9402   Fax: 904/824-9269   Email: DHILBERT@CANANLAW.COM  LEAD ATTORNEY  ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED  Designation: Retained
Pending Counts		Disposition
None
Highest Offense Level (Opening)
None
Terminated Counts		Disposition
None
Highest Offense Level (Terminated)
None
Complaints		Disposition
18:111A.M Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers and Aiding and Abetting; , 18:231.F CIVIL DISORDER and Aiding and Abetting; 18:641.M THEFT/EMBEZZLEMENT OF U. S. PROPERTY and Aiding and Abetting; 18:1752.P Entering and Remaining in a RESTRICTED BUILDING OR GROUNDS; , 40:5104E.M VIOLENT ENTRY AND DISORDERLY CONDUCT ON CAPITOL GROUNDS

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Plaintiff
USA	represented by	Frank Merrill Talbot , II   US Attorney's Office - FLM   Suite 700   300 N Hogan St   Jacksonville, FL 32202   904/301-6300   Fax: 904/301-6310   Email: frank.m.talbot@usdoj.gov  LEAD ATTORNEY  ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED  Designation: Retained

Date Filed	#	Docket Text
02/25/2021	1	Arrest pursuant to Rule 5(c)(2) of John Anderson from the District of Columbia. (SHS) (Entered: 02/25/2021)
02/25/2021	2	Minute Entry proceedings held before Magistrate Judge Monte C. Richardson: INITIAL APPEARANCE in Rule 5(c)(3) proceedings held on 2/25/2021 as to John Anderson from the District of Columbia. Appearance entered by Daniel K. Hilbert,Andrew Taylor Morgan for John Anderson on behalf of defendant. (Digital) (SHS) (Entered: 02/25/2021)
02/25/2021	3	ORAL MOTION for Bond by USA as to John Anderson. (SHS) (Entered: 02/25/2021)
02/25/2021	4	ORDER OF TEMPORARY DETENTION as to John Anderson Detention Hearing set for 2/26/2021 at 02:30 PM in Jacksonville Courtroom 5 C before Magistrate Judge Monte C. Richardson. Signed by Magistrate Judge Monte C. Richardson on 2/25/2021. (SHS) (Entered: 02/25/2021)
02/25/2021	5	ORDER as to John Anderson: Pursuant to the Due Process Protections Act, the Court confirms the United States' obligation to produce all exculpatory evidence to the defendant pursuant to Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), and its progeny and orders the United States to do so. Failing to do so in a timely manner may result in consequences, including exclusion of evidence, adverse jury instructions, dismissal of charges, contempt proceedings, and sanctions. Signed by Judge Timothy J. Corrigan on 12/1/2020. (SHS) (Entered: 02/25/2021)

Here are the courtroom notes from the February 25, 2021 initial appearance:

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA 

JACKSONVILLE DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.    CASE NO. 3:21-mj-1089-MCR

vs.

JOHN ANDERSON

Defense Atty.: DANIEL K. HILBERT ANDREW TAYLOR MORGAN AUSA: FRANK MERRILL TALBOT, II

JUDGE:	Monte C. Richardson U.S. Magistrate Judge	DATE AND TIME	February 25, 2021 3:09 PM – 3:424 PM 15 MINUTES
DEPUTY CLERK:	Sharon Spaulding	TAPE/REPORTER	Digital
INTERPRETER	None Required	PRETRIAL/PROBATION		JAMES HASKETT

PROCEEDINGS:

CLERK’S MINUTES
INITIAL APPEARANCE /RULE 5

Defendant arrested on probable cause on February 25, 2021 by the FBI. Defendant advised of rights, charges, penalties and special assessment.

Oral Notice of appearance entered on behalf of Defendant by Daniel K. Hilbert, Esq. and Andrew Taylor Morgan, Esq. Mr. Hilbert further advised that Defendant has retained Marina Medvina, Esq. in the District of Columbia.

Government orally moved for bond.

Court ordered Defendant temporarily detained pending a detention hearing to be held on February 26, 2021 at 2:30 pm.