Politics
Russia arrests 3,800 during wide protests backing Navalny
MOSCOW (AP) — Chanting slogans against President Vladimir Putin, tens of thousands took to the streets Sunday across Russia to demand the release of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, keeping up nationwide protests that have rattled the Kremlin. More than 3,800 people were detained by police, according to a monitoring group, and some were beaten.
Russian authorities mounted a massive effort to stem the tide of demonstrations after tens of thousands rallied across the country last weekend in the largest, most widespread show of discontent that Russia has seen in years. Yet despite threats of jail terms, warnings to social media groups and tight police cordons, the protests again engulfed cities across Russia’s 11 time zones on Sunday.
The 44-year-old Navalny, an anti-corruption investigator who is Putin’s best-known critic, was arrested on Jan.17 upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. Russian authorities have rejected the accusations. He was arrested for allegedly violating his parole conditions by not reporting for meetings with law enforcement when he was recuperating in Germany.
Police detain a protester in St. Petersburg. (AP Photo/Valentin Egorshin)
The United States urged Russia to release Navalny and criticized the crackdown on protests.
“The U.S. condemns the persistent use of harsh tactics against peaceful protesters and journalists by Russian authorities for a second week straight,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Twitter.
The Russian Foreign Ministry rejected Blinken’s call as a “crude interference in Russia’s internal affairs” and accused Washington of trying to destabilize the situation in the country by backing the protests.
On Sunday, police detained more than 3,800 people at protests in cities nationwide, according to OVD-Info, a group that monitors political arrests.
In Moscow, authorities introduced unprecedented security measures in the city center, closing subway stations near the Kremlin, cutting bus traffic and ordering restaurants and stores to stay closed.
Police stand blocking approaches to the square during a protest against the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Volgograd, Russia, Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021. Thousands of people have taken to the streets across Russia to demand the release of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, keeping up the wave of nationwide protests that have rattled the Kremlin. Many chanted slogans against President Vladimir Putin. The authorities mounted a massive effort to stem the tide of demonstrations after tens of thousands rallied across the country last weekend in the most widespread show of discontent Russia has seen in years. (AP Photo/Dmitry Rogulin)
Navalny’s team initially called for Sunday’s protest to be held on Moscow’s Lubyanka Square, home to the main headquarters of the Federal Security Service, which Navalny claims was responsible for his poisoning. Facing police cordons around the square, the protest shifted to other central squares and streets.
Police were randomly picking up people and putting them into police buses, but thousands of protesters marched across the city center for hours, chanting “Putin, resign!” and Putin, thief!” — a reference to an opulent Black Sea estate reportedly built for the Russian leader that was featured in a widely popular video released by Navalny’s team.
“I’m not afraid, because we are the majority,” said Leonid Martynov, who took part in the protest. “We mustn’t be scared by clubs because the truth is on our side.”
At one point, crowds of demonstrators walked toward the Matrosskaya Tishina prison where Navalny is being held. They were met by phalanxes of riot police who pushed the march back and chased protesters through courtyards, detaining scores and beating some with clubs. Still, demonstrators continued to march around the Russian capital, zigzagging around police cordons.
Over 1,000 were detained in Moscow, including Navalny’s wife, Yulia, who joined the protest. “If we keep silent, they will come after any of us tomorrow,” she said on Instagram before turning out to protest.
Several thousand people marched across Russia’s second-largest city of St. Petersburg, and occasional scuffles erupted as some demonstrators pushed back police who tried to make detentions. Nearly 800 were arrested.
Some of the biggest rallies were held in Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk in eastern Siberia and Yekaterinburg in the Urals.
“I do not want my grandchildren to live in such a country,” said 55-year-old Vyacheslav Vorobyov, who turned out for a rally in Yekaterinburg. “I want them to live in a free country.”
As part of a multipronged effort by authorities to block the protests, courts have jailed Navalny’s associates and activists across the country over the past week. His brother Oleg, top aide Lyubov Sobol and three other people were put Friday under a two-month house arrest on charges of allegedly violating coronavirus restrictions during last weekend’s protests.
Prosecutors also demanded that social media platforms block calls to join the protests.
The Interior Ministry issued stern warnings to the public not to join the protests, saying participants could be charged with taking part in mass riots, which carries a prison sentence of up to eight years.
Nearly 4,000 people were reportedly detained at demonstrations on Jan. 23 calling for Navalny’s release that took place in more than 100 Russian cities.
Soon after Navalny’s arrest, his team released a two-hour video on his YouTube channel about the Black Sea residence purportedly built for Putin. The video has been viewed over 100 million times, helping fuel discontent and inspiring a stream of sarcastic jokes on the internet amid an economic downturn.
Russia has seen extensive corruption during Putin’s time in office while poverty has remained widespread.
Demonstrators in Moscow chanted “Aqua discotheque!” — a reference to one of the fancy amenities at the residence that also features a casino and a hookah lounge equipped for watching pole dances.
Putin says neither he nor any of his close relatives own the property. On Saturday, construction magnate Arkady Rotenberg, a longtime Putin confidant and his occasional judo sparring partner, claimed that he himself owned the property.
Navalny fell into a coma on Aug. 20 while on a domestic flight from Siberia to Moscow and the pilot diverted the plane so he could be treated in the city of Omsk. He was transferred to a Berlin hospital two days later. Labs in Germany, France and Sweden, and tests by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, established that he was exposed to the Novichok nerve agent.
Russian authorities have refused to open a full-fledged criminal inquiry, claiming a lack of evidence that he was poisoned.
Navalny was arrested immediately upon his return to Russia earlier this month and jailed for 30 days on the request of Russia’s prison service, which alleged he had violated the probation of his suspended sentence from a 2014 money-laundering conviction that he has rejected as political revenge.
On Thursday, a Moscow court rejected Navalny’s appeal to be released, and another hearing next week could turn his 3 1/2-year suspended sentence into one he must serve in prison.
Central Florida News
Orlando Commissioner Tony Ortiz Files for Mayor, Could Become City’s First Puerto Rican Mayor
ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) — Tony Ortiz, a longtime Orlando city commissioner, former Marine, and former law enforcement officer, has officially filed to run for mayor of Orlando following Mayor Buddy Dyer’s announcement that he will not seek re-election.
Ortiz filed his candidacy ahead of the November 2027 nonpartisan mayoral election. If elected, he would become Orlando’s first Puerto Rican mayor.
GROWING FIELD OF CANDIDATES
Ortiz joins a growing field of candidates that includes State Representative Anna Eskamani, who could become Orlando’s first Iranian American mayor if elected, along with Elliot Kahanna and Abdelnasser Luth.
In his campaign announcement, Ortiz emphasized issues affecting residents across Orlando, including housing affordability, public safety, homelessness, transportation, economic opportunity, and neighborhood stability.
“As the City of Orlando continues to grow and evolve, residents across the city are increasingly focused on the issues that shape everyday life,” Ortiz stated in his campaign announcement.
LAW ENFORCEMENT BACKGROUNDS RESONATE WITH ORANGE COUNTY VOTERS
Political observers note that Orange County voters have historically supported candidates with backgrounds in local, state, and federal law enforcement or public safety roles.
Examples include Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, former Orange County sheriff; former U.S. Congresswoman Val Demings, former Orlando police chief; former State Senator Victor Torres, a former NYC Transit Police officer; Maitland City Commissioner Keith Givens, a retired FBI agent; former State Representative Daisy Morales, a former HSI official; Apopka City Commissioner Diane Velazquez, a former NYPD officer; and former Orlando City Commissioner Samuel Ings, a former Orlando police officer.
Florida National News Photo
HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY FOR REPRESENTATION
Ortiz’s candidacy highlights the continued growth and political influence of Central Florida’s Puerto Rican community. If successful, his election would mark a historic milestone for Puerto Rican representation in Orlando city government.
Florida
DeSantis’ New Florida Congressional Map Could Spark Lawsuits, Legislative Showdown, and Statewide Protests
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FNN) — Governor Ron DeSantis unveiled a proposed congressional redistricting map that could significantly reshape Florida’s representation in the U.S. House ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The proposal, released Monday, outlines districts that could favor Republicans in 24 seats, compared to four Democratic-leaning districts. Currently, Florida’s congressional delegation includes 20 Republicans and seven Democrats, with one vacant seat.
REDISTRICTING PROPOSAL & POLITICAL IMPACT
The governor said the new map reflects Florida’s population changes and fulfills his commitment to mid-decade redistricting. Lawmakers have been called into a special legislative session to consider the proposal.
The map appears to eliminate four Democratic-held seats, including a Tampa-area district represented by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, an Osceola County district held by U.S. Rep. Darren Soto—the first Puerto Rican elected to Congress from Florida—and a Palm Beach-Broward district that could displace U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz.
The proposal also affects a majority-Black voting district spanning Palm Beach and Broward counties, previously represented by former U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, raising concerns about the future of minority representation.
Supporters, including Evan Power, say the map could better align districts with voter distribution. Critics, including Nikki Fried, have called the proposal unconstitutional gerrymandering. Florida law prohibits partisan gerrymandering, setting up potential legal challenges.
Rep. Tray McCurdy, D-Orlando and Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville sit on the Florida Seal in protest as debate stops on Senate Bill 2-C: Establishing the Congressional Districts of the State in the House of Representatives Thursday, April 21, 2022 at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. Rep. Daisy Morales, D-Orlando, joins the protest, holding a sign. The session was halted on the protest. (AP Photo/Phil Sears)
LOOKING BACK: 2022 PROTESTS OVER REDISTRICTING
The current debate mirrors tensions from 2022, when Democratic lawmakers staged a sit-in protest on the Florida House floor in opposition to a previous congressional map backed by DeSantis.
Lawmakers including Yvonne Hinson, Angie Nixon, Travaris McCurdy, Felicia Robinson, and Daisy Morales participated in the protest, temporarily halting legislative proceedings.
Morales, a member of the Congressional Redistricting Subcommittee and the only Hispanic lawmaker involved in the sit-in, strongly criticized the map at the time.
“Our democracy is being attacked. The governor eliminating two Black congressional seats is a power grab and it’s wrong,” Morales said in a written statement. “Stripping seats from Black representation is the same as saying the Black voice—the Black vote—doesn’t matter.”
She also warned about potential impacts on Hispanic representation:
“With this map passing, I’m deeply concerned it could target the only Puerto Rican representing Florida in Congress, Darren Soto, to benefit partisan interests. We don’t want to disenfranchise the 1.2 million Puerto Ricans in Florida.”
WHAT COMES NEXT IN 2026
As lawmakers prepare to debate the new proposal, Democrats are expected to push back through legal challenges, legislative opposition, and public advocacy.
The outcome of Florida’s redistricting battle could play a pivotal role in shaping control of the U.S. House and influence the national political landscape heading into the 2026 midterm elections.
