Anthony Sabatini

Anthony Frank Sabatini^[1] (born October 20, 1988) is an American politician, attorney, and military officer serving as a captain in the Army National Guard. He previously served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 32nd district from 2018 to 2022 and as a city commissioner for Eustis, Florida from 2017 to 2018.^[2] In 2022, he was the runner-up in Florida's 7th congressional district Republican primary, losing to Cory Mills. In December 2022, Sabatini was elected chair of the Lake County Republican party.^[3] He is well known for his staunch support of President Donald Trump.^[4][5]

Anthony Sabatini
Official portrait, 2024
Member of the Lake County Commission from the 1st district
Incumbent
Assumed office November 5, 2024
Preceded by	Doug Shields
Chair of the Lake County Republican Party
Incumbent
Assumed office December 2022
Preceded by	Walter Price
Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 32nd district
In office November 6, 2018 – November 8, 2022
Preceded by	Larry Metz
Succeeded by	Thad Altman
Member of the Eustis City Commission from Seat 2
In office January 1, 2017 – April 30, 2018
Succeeded by	Michael Holland
Personal details
Born	Anthony Frank Sabatini (1988-10-20) October 20, 1988 (age 36) Smithtown, New York, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Francheska Sabatini
Education	University of Florida (BA, JD)
Occupation	Politician lawyer soldier
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Rank	Captain
Unit	Florida Army National Guard

In August 2024, Sabatini was elected to the Lake County Commission.^[6]

Early life and education

Sabatini was born in Smithtown, New York, in 1988 and moved with his family to Florida the following year. In a high school photo, Sabatini and a friend were pictured in blackface.^[7][8] In his freshman year of college, he was photographed in brownface.^[9][10] He earned bachelor's degrees in philosophy and history from the University of Florida in 2012 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law in 2017.^[11]

Career

Sabatini is an infantry officer in the Florida Army National Guard. He was appointed to the City of Eustis Code Enforcement Board and later elected to the Eustis City Commission in 2016 and resigned from the office on April 30, 2018, to focus on his campaign for the Florida House of Representatives.^[12][13] In December 2022, Sabatini was elected chair of the Lake County Republican party.^[14]

Florida House of Representatives

Sabatini defeated Monica Wofford and Shannon Elswick, to win the August 28, 2018 Republican primary, winning 46.7% of the vote.^[15] In the November 6, 2018 general election, Sabatini defeated Democrat Cynthia Brown, taking 56.48% of the vote.^[16]

In 2019, Sabatini proposed amendments to make the Swamp Restaurant in Gainesville a landmark to protect it from demolition.^[17][18] The restaurant was temporarily closed, but not demolished, and eventually returned.^[19]

On January 13, 2020, Sabatini introduced HB 1365, which would have made it a felony for doctors to provide hormone therapy or gender reassignment surgery for transgender minors.^[20]

In 2020, Sabatini introduced legislation allowing Floridians with valid concealed carry licensed to carry firearms on public colleges and universities.^[21][22][23]

Sabatini has sponsored legislation to enshrine eight-year term limits for Florida's school boards.^{[24][25][26][27]}

Sabatini has introduced legislation to ban red light cameras in Florida.^[28][29][30]

2022 U.S. House campaign

Main article: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida

Volusia County Chairman Jeff Brower endorses Anthony Sabatini for Congress in 2022.^[31]

On March 8, 2021, Sabatini announced that he would challenge incumbent Republican representative Daniel Webster for Florida's 11th congressional district. He later suggested he might not wind up running against Webster due to redistricting.^[32] On June 7, 2021, he announced he would challenge incumbent Democratic representative Stephanie Murphy for Florida's 7th congressional district due to redistricting.^[33]

Sabatini lost the 2022 Republican primary to Cory Mills in August 2022.^[34]

2024 U.S House campaign

Main article: 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida

In April 2023, Sabatini declared his candidacy for the U.S House of Representatives, again challenging Daniel Webster for the Republican nomination for Florida's 11th congressional district.^[35] He withdrew from the race in June 2024 after Donald Trump endorsed Webster.^[36]

Political positions

Gun rights

Sabatini has supported constitutional carry legislation to allow Floridians to carry concealed firearms without first acquiring a permit. Sabatini described permit requirements as a requirement for persons "to beg government permission and pay money for the exercise of their fundamental God-given right."^[37] Sabatini introduced constitutional carry legislation in 2020, 2021, and 2022; the legislation was endorsed by Republican governor Ron DeSantis but did not pass the Republican-controlled legislature; Sabatini criticized several fellow Republicans for failing to back the bill.^[38][39]

Black Lives Matter protests

In response to the protests following the murder of George Floyd, Sabatini posted a tweet that suggested that protesters who unlawfully enter businesses would be met with an AR-15 rifle; he posted a similar suggestion on his Facebook page with the caption "Don't Tread on Me".^[40] The sentiment was widely condemned, with Florida State Representative Cindy Polo deriding it as "clearly inflammatory" and "inciting violence".^[41] Nikki Fried, Florida Agriculture Commissioner, called for Sabatini to be reprimanded. House Speaker José Oliva found no "direct or preemptive threat" in Sabatini's comments and did not take punitive actions.^[42] Sabatini also drew criticism from Florida state senator Shevrin Jones for referring to Black Lives Matter protesters in Minneapolis as "disgusting, lawless thugs" in a tweet calling for their arrest, prosecution, and imprisonment.^[43]

During the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, following the shooting and death of three men in Kenosha, WI, Sabatini tweeted "KYLE RITTENHOUSE FOR CONGRESS."^[44]

"Cancel culture" and the media

Sabatini has made multiple critical statements of "cancel culture", tweeting that, "If Socrates was out philosophizing in American society today, he would be cancelled real quick".^[45] He has called for repealing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, arguing that it allows online platforms to remove conservative perspectives.^[46]

COVID-19

In July 2020, a Florida resident filed an ethics complaint against Sabatini in connection with his involvement in several mask mandate lawsuits.^[47] The complaint was in response to a press release about the lawsuit that printed Sabatini's official House email address as the press contact and alleged that this violates a Florida State Statute about misuse of public position.^[47]

Sabatini has filed at least 14 lawsuits during the COVID-19 pandemic challenging local ordinances requiring the use of face coverings.^[48] On September 2, 2020, he received his sixth loss from the filed suits that have so far been heard.^[49]

Donald Trump

Sabatini has proposed renaming the Florida section of U.S. Route 27 the "President Donald J. Trump Highway".^[50] During Trump's reelection bid announcement in Orlando on June 18, 2019, a rally goer attacked an Orlando Sentinel reporter filming the event. The reporter tweeted the encounter, to which Sabatini replied "MAGA". for which he was again criticized for supporting violence.^[51]

Sabatini has repeatedly supported Republican attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden. He has repeated disproven conspiracy theories about the election, and has called for audits of the results in Hillsborough County, Miami-Dade County, Broward County, Palm Beach County, and Orange County.^[52]

Following the FBI's August 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago, Sabatini said Florida should "sever all ties with DOJ immediately" and added that "any FBI agent conducting law enforcement functions outside the purview of our State should be arrested upon sight".^[53]

Supreme Court

Sabatini criticized President Joe Biden's pledge to nominate a Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court following Justice Stephen Breyer's announcement that he would retire, tweeting, "Biden MUST be impeached for his anti-white racist exclusion of any white nominee to the Supreme Court".^[54][55]

Francisco Franco

In 2022, Sabatini quoted Spanish dictator Francisco Franco on Twitter, tweeting that “I answer only to God and to History.” In response to criticism of Sabatini's tweet, Sabatini posted a picture of Franco with President Dwight Eisenhower and stated that critics of his tweet were "extremely un-American."^[56]

Electoral history

2016 Eustis City Commission Seat 2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Anthony Sabatini	3,414	46.1
	Nonpartisan	Brandon Avallone	1,186	16
	Nonpartisan	Michael Strong	2,804	37.8
Total votes			7,404

2018 Florida House of Representatives 32nd district Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Anthony Sabatini	8,278	46.7
	Republican	Shannon Elswick	5,170	29.2
	Republican	Monica Wofford	4,276	24.1
Total votes			17,724	100.00

2018 Florida House of Representatives 32nd district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Anthony Sabatini	46,446	56.5
	Democratic	Cynthia Brown	35,784	43.5

2020 Florida House of Representatives 32nd district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Anthony Sabatini	63,164	55.7
	Democratic	Stephanie Dukes	50,226	44.3

2022 Florida's 7th Congressional District Republican primary^[57]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Cory Mills	27,452	38.1%
	Republican	Anthony Sabatini	17,059	23.6%
	Republican	Brady Duke	11,010	15.3%
	Republican	Ted Edwards	4,197	5.8%
	Republican	Russell Roberts	3,970	5.5%
	Republican	Erika Benfield	3,912	5.4%
	Republican	Scott Sturgill	3,055	4.2%
	Republican	Al Santos	1,480	2.1%

Personal life

Sabatini is Italian Catholic. He is married to his wife Francheska. They live in Lake County, Florida.

See also

• Michelle Salzman
• Cory Mills
• Webster Barnaby

References

1. "Anthony Frank Sabatini - Florida Candidate". Transparency USA. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
2. "District map at www.myfloridahouse.gov website" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 18, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
3. "Anthony Sabatini wins Lake GOP Chair". December 14, 2022.
4. Daly, Michael (February 15, 2024). "Trump-Loving Pol Wants to Execute Climate Change Protesters". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
5. Sartoris, Katie (January 20, 2021). "Sabatini proposes renaming U.S. 27 The 'President Donald J. Trump Highway'". Daily Commercial. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
6. "Sabatini claims victory in Lake County Commission race". August 20, 2024.
7. Brice-Saddler, Michael (February 7, 2019). "A politician wore blackface to dress as his friend. They call it a 'silly high school prank.'". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
8. Lemongello, Steven (February 5, 2019). "State Rep. Anthony Sabatini dismisses Florida Democratic chair's call for his resignation over high school 'blackface' photo". The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
9. Wolf, Colin (February 7, 2019). "Photo appears to show Florida Rep. Anthony Sabatini, who's still dealing with a blackface scandal, wearing brownface". Orlando Weekly. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
10. Lemongello, Steven (February 15, 2019). "Rookie Rep. Anthony Sabatini draws fire from GOP leader, critics. The session hasn't even started yet". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
11. "Florida House of Representatives - Anthony Sabatini - 2018 - 2020 ( Speaker Oliva )". myfloridahouse.gov. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
12. McNiff, Tom (May 1, 2018). "Sabatini steps down from Eustis Commission". Daily Commercial. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
13. "Eustis names Holland to fill Sabatini's seat".
14. "Anthony Sabatini wins Lake GOP Chair". December 14, 2022.
15. "Florida Department of State - Election Results". results.elections.myflorida.com. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
16. "Florida Election Watch - State Representative". floridaelectionwatch.gov. Archived from the original on November 30, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
17. Ellwood, Karina (April 18, 2019). "Florida lawmaker proposes amendment to make The Swamp Restaurant a landmark". The Independent Florida Alligator. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
18. Marr, Madeline (April 19, 2019). "Popular Gator Nation bar The Swamp faces wrecking ball. Lawmaker joins fight to save it". Miami Herald. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
19. Richardson, Kalia (December 13, 2020). "The Swamp restaurant to return to Gainesville in new location". The Independent Florida Alligator. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
20. Lipscomb, Jessica (February 4, 2020). "Nonbinary Broward Candidate Confronts Florida Rep Sponsoring Anti-Trans Bill". Miami New Times. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
21. Patrick, Craig (December 29, 2020). "Florida lawmaker confident legislature will allow guns on college campuses". Fox13news.com. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
22. "Florida Rep. Anthony Sabatini shoots for 'campus carry' concealed gun permits yet again in 2021 session". Orlando Weekly. The News Service of Florida. December 4, 2020. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
23. "Anthony Sabatini pulls trigger on 'campus carry' legislation". Floridapolitics.com. November 30, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
24. Solochek, Jeffrey S. (January 21, 2020). "Florida lawmakers renew push for school board term limits". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
25. "Florida lawmaker files another school board term limit proposal". WJXT. December 1, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
26. Saunders, Jim (January 29, 2020). "Florida House Republicans are pushing for term limits on county school-board members". Orlando Weekly. News Service of Florida. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
27. Sartoris, Katie. "School board term limits one step closer to the voters". Daily Commercial. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
28. Rousseau, Beth (January 16, 2021). "Florida lawmaker pushes ban on red light cameras". WFLA. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
29. "Rep. Sabatini files bill again to abolish red-light cameras in Florida". Orlando Sentinel. December 7, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
30. Synan, Mike (April 10, 2018). "Anthony Sabatini Wants to Eliminate Red Light Cameras for Good". Florida Daily. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
31. "High Frequency: Bedfellows". Beacon Online News. March 1, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
32. Fineout, Gary (March 8, 2021). "Pro-Trump Florida state lawmaker to challenge Webster". Politico. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
33. Lemongello, Steven (June 8, 2021). "Anthony Sabatini says he will run for Congress against Stephanie Murphy". Orlando Sentinel.
34. "Florida Seventh Congressional District Primary Election Results". The New York Times. August 23, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
35. Ogles, Jacob (April 3, 2023). "Anthony Sabatini challenging Dan Webster in CD 11". Florida Politics. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
36. Fox, Greg (June 14, 2024). "Anthony Sabatini drops out of Republican primary for House District 11 after Trump endorses opponent". WESH. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
37. Gipson, Rod; Elmhorst, Rick (April 6, 2022). "Packing Heat: Will Florida be the next constitutional carry state?". www.baynews9.com. Bay News 9. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
38. Wildman, Asher. "Constitutional carry would make Florida 25th permitless state for guns". www.mynews13.com. MyNews13. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
39. "GOP Rep. Anthony Sabatini Pushes 'Constitutional Carry' Special Session". miami.cbslocal.com. April 14, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
40. Lipscomb, Jessica (June 2, 2020). "Hialeah lawmaker says colleague's AR-15 tweet was inciting violence". Miami New Times. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
41. Haughey, John (June 2, 2020). "Freshman Florida state representative under fire for 'openly calling for violence'". Washington Examiner. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
42. Lemongello, Steven (May 31, 2020). "Lake County GOP Rep. Sabatini posts picture of AR15 rifle directed at protesters". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
43. Gancarski, A. G. (May 30, 2020). "'Thugs' drive Florida House Twitter beef". Florida Politics. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
44. Sabatini, Anthony (November 21, 2020). "KYLE RITTENHOUSE FOR CONGRESS". Twitter. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
45. Knowles, Hannah (May 22, 2021). "A Florida Republican says Socrates would be canceled today. The philosopher faced a different fate: Execution". Fernandina Observer. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
46. Haughey, John (September 10, 2021). "Sabatini vows to be first Florida lawmaker to file a 'Texas Heartbeat Bill'". Fernandina Observer. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
47. Schorsch, Peter (July 29, 2020). "Anthony Sabatini faces ethics complaint in connection to mask lawsuits". Florida Politics. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
48. Tatham, Chelsea (August 3, 2020). "Florida lawmaker files lawsuit against Manatee County, one of 14 lawsuits against mask mandates". wtsp.com. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
49. "Judge sides with DeLand over Anthony Sabatini in mask lawsuit". Florida Politics. September 2, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
50. "Rep. Sabatini calls for renaming U.S. 27 the Donald J. Trump Highway". January 20, 2021.
51. Bever, Lindsey; Iati, Marisa (February 19, 2019). "A Trump supporter was arrested after smacking a reporter's phone. 'MAGA,' a GOP lawmaker responded". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
52. Gilbraith, Alex (July 26, 2021). "Florida Rep. Anthony Sabatini calls for presidential election audit of Orange County, among others". Orlando Weekly. Archived from the original on January 5, 2022. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
53. Kilander, Gustaf (August 9, 2022). "Florida lawmaker calls for arrest of FBI agents and for state to 'sever all ties with DOJ immediately'". The Independent. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
54. Sabatini, Anthony [@AnthonySabatini] (January 27, 2022). "Biden MUST be impeached for his anti-white racist exclusion of any white nominee to the Supreme Court" (Tweet). Retrieved January 30, 2022 – via Twitter.
55. Bazzle, Steph (January 27, 2022). "GOP Rep Wants Biden Impeached For "Anti-White Racist Exclusion" On SCOTUS". Hill Reporter. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
56. Graziosi, Graig (October 20, 2022). "Florida Republican defends tweeting quote from Spanish dictator Francisco Franco". The Independent. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
57. "Florida's 7th Congressional district election". Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 27, 2022.

External links

• Campaign website
• Florida House of Representatives – Anthony Sabatini

Florida House of Representatives
Preceded by Larry Metz	Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 32nd district 2018–2022	Succeeded by Thad Altman