In an exceedingly rare move, a Florida House committee on Thursday reprimanded Rep. Angie Nixon for repeatedly blaring a bullhorn during a contentious fight over congressional redistricting.
But the Jacksonville Democrat told reporters she’s unfazed — despite receiving the Florida Legislature’s first official reprimand in more than 20 years.
“I don’t care if I get a reprimand. I don’t even care if they expel me, because I’m standing up for my elders,” said Nixon, a candidate for U.S. Senate. “Stop doing illegal things and I won’t call you out with a pink microphone.”
Nixon said she found out about her hearing through social media, alleging House leadership never contacted her.
Adorned in hot pink — the same color as both her loudspeaker and the matching outfit she wore during the April 29 episode — Nixon was barred from speaking during the House Rules and Ethics Committee’s half-hour deliberations. The reprimand was approved via a voice vote on the GOP-dominated committee, despite a handful of mumbled “nos” from Democrats.
The Legislature’s last reprimand to a lawmaker was 2005, when Democratic state Sen. Mandy Dawson was castigated for allegedly soliciting lobbyist money for a South Africa vacation. More recent scoldings included letters of admonition for then-Sen. Darren Soto in 2014 and then-Sen. Mike Haridopolos in 2011.
“A reprimand is a serious action, but also a measured one,” Rules Chair Rep. Sam Garrison, a Fleming Island Republican, told committee members. Garrison will take over as House Speaker in November.
“It recognizes the need for accountability, but it balances it with a measure of grace that I believe each of us would hope for if the roles were reversed,” he added.
The punishment — which could be a predicate to formally censure Nixon if she breaks House rules again — came two weeks after the 42-year-old smuggled her mini bullhorn onto the House floor to protest Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new congressional map.
“What y’all are doing is illegal!” she yelled as members voted, pacing up and down the floor. “I will not allow you to destroy our democracy!”
The disturbance led two Democrats to accidentally vote in favor of the map — which, in a break from tradition, redraws congressional lines halfway through the decade. It could flip four Democratic districts red in a delegation of 28.
In later comments to reporters, Nixon accused House Republicans of “silencing” Democrats’ voices, ignoring pressing issues like rising costs, and relegating her to a “basement with rats” in 2022, after she led a sit-in protest in the House chamber, also over redistricting.
“This is a slap in the face of voters, it’s a slap in the face of all Floridians, it’s a slap in the face of the blood of my ancestors that’s running through my veins right now,” she said.
Apart from the Senate, the House’s last reprimand — and later censure — was issued against Democrat Rep. Willie Logan in 2002 for allegedly misusing state funds. Logan had previously been under fire for public exposure and battery on a police officer.
–Liv Caputo, Florida Phoenix
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