Miami Beach: Police question resident over Facebook comment critical of mayor

On January 7, 2026, Miami Beach resident Raquel Pacheco posted a comment on Facebook critical of Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner’s stance on Palestinians and the LGBTQ community. The mayor reportedly flagged the comment for the police, and on January 12, two Miami Beach Police Department officers visited Pacheco’s home to question her about the post and advised her to “refrain from posting things like that because that could get something incited.” 

On January 16, FIRE wrote the MBPD, calling on it to publicly affirm that the First Amendment protected Pacheco’s post and to commit that, going forward, officers will never initiate contact with individuals for the purpose of discouraging lawful expression. FIRE also requested copies of any MBPD policies, guidance, or training materials governing officer responses to protected expression.