07/12/2007
Fla Rep. Bob Allen to Fight Solicitation Charges, Plead Not Guilty
Florida State Representative Bob Allen (R-Merritt Island) said at a news conference that he's not guilty of solicitation charges stemming from an encounter with a male undercover cop in a men's restroom in Titusville, Florida. He vowed to fight the charges, Local6.com reports. (video)
I've transcribed Allen's statement:
"The political process and the legal process has different communication styles and requirements. As a person in the political arena that is a representative of people, I tend to want to talk about each and every detail, to give a response to each and every item, and let it be known the truth will be coming out. But I have to follow the legal process because I've been put into a legal process...
...I wish this situation to no one or any family. My wife, Beth and I, and my daughter have grown closer in the last 48 hours than we thought imaginable. She is doing the right thing with my daughter in getting her ready for college, and luckily, has sent her support and she will be giving her own statements later. But she wanted to say thank you, thank you, and I say thank you to the numerous supporters that we have had call from around the state. My colleagues in office - senators, congressmen, legislators, and members and citizens across the whole state that I've gotten calls from - especially my district. Their thoughts and prayers have been extended and I tell ya that's the power that it takes to win and fight this battle...
...I am filing a not guilty plea. I am vigorously going to fight this. I am not resigning my office because the people who elected me want me to do a good job and I am going to do a good job for them in finishing this term. Any others, or political shenanigans they try to tell you...other things about this is not. This is an ugly and unpleasant situation that has been thrust on me and my family. It is not true. It is unaccurate, and it is therefore not guilty...and I will be standing strongly for that. And for people who have been standing with me and my family, (tears up) it is appreciated. You've done a good job in trying to get the news out...
...People tend to take the fast news and make fast conclusions. I would ask people not to jump to any conclusions on this. To be fair, and slow down, and look at it. The legal process is slow and makes you look at each individual piece. That's why I cannot answer details today as much as I would like to. And there are many details that they will lose the burden of proof. Thank you."
Allen, the Republican co-chair of John McCain's Florida Presidential campaign, was also the author of failed Florida House Bill #1475, the 'Lewd and Lascivious Behavior Act' which "would have tightened the state's prohibition of public sex."
One more thing: If you're interested in reading the arrest report, here it is.
Previously
GOP Florida State Rep. Allen Charged in Gay Oral Sex Solicitation [tr]
Florida Rep. Bob Allen to Discuss Men's Room Activities [tr]
Posted 6:17 PM EST by Andy in Bob Allen, Crime, Florida, News, Republican Party | Permalink
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What a pig.
"People tend to take the fast news and make fast conclusions. I would ask people not to jump to any conclusions on this. To be fair, and slow down, and look at it."
OK you pig. You were first seen going into and out of a public rest room. Then you went back in and offered a cop $20 bucks if you could blow him. HMMMMMM.
The real crime is not you cheating on your wife, not gay bashing, not backing the GOP and hate mongers in this world. No sir the real crime is offering that poor guy just a twenty to even touch you.
Posted by: patrick nyc | Jul 12, 2007 6:46:39 PM
So the guy who is fighting sex in public places is soliciting sex in bathrooms. He was also against Gays adopting, Gay civil unions or marriage and any form of anti discrimination legislation that would help Gay people. I hope he gets screwed, not the fun way. Payback is a bitch.
And keep an eye out for him at rest stops and bars from Merritt Island to Tallahassee because he'll be there.
Posted by: Elaygee | Jul 12, 2007 7:05:57 PM
Patrick, that last sentence is just too funny~!
Posted by: John | Jul 12, 2007 7:07:35 PM
Hog.
Posted by: becks07 | Jul 12, 2007 7:21:01 PM
Republican men in Florida sure do seem to love the cock!
Posted by: davitydave | Jul 12, 2007 7:26:24 PM
"It is not true. It is unaccurate [sic], and it is [sic] therefore not guilty."
If it is not true, then the only other explanation for the arrest and for the arresting officer's report is that the police completely made the whole thing up in a deliberate attempt to smear him. Pretty hard to believe; what would they gain by doing that?
If it is "unaccurate," then the situation unfolded in some other way (e.g. entrapment), but the bottom line is that this hypocrite was going to blow a guy he met in a public restroom.
Case closed. G'night!
Posted by: JOE 2 | Jul 12, 2007 7:29:18 PM
I love the "talk" of fighting this thing vigorously in the courts. It's as though he's clearing his name or something. What he's really doing is fighting to stay out of jail. His name is shit already....
Posted by: woodroad34 | Jul 12, 2007 7:42:36 PM
Joe 2, I'm glad you pointed that out because I couldn't figure out what it was that was bugging me about what he was saying. Sure, he is clearly trying desperately to spin it, but it just doesn't make sense. George Michael tried to say the same thing and fell flat. This guy is FREAKED. So much grasping at straws. Too bad, so sad. Till the next one.
Posted by: JR | Jul 12, 2007 7:45:44 PM
Huh. The bad thing is, if you read the police report, it seems like it was the cop who made the first move: "Do you have someplace we could go?". The first words making a "move" come from the cop.
Entrapment city, -this will be tossed.
As great as it is that a hypocrite jerk was busted, it's clear too that the cop was out to entrap gay people. And pretty clumsily too.
Posted by: James | Jul 12, 2007 8:05:47 PM
James, you are perhaps correct, however, I have zero sympathy for people who troll for sex in public places. What does this vulgar behavior do to edify any of us, gay, straight or otherwise?
If I'm in a restroom in a park, I just want to pee, not have some melty-faced freak peering over the stall wall.
Act like slime and you may just get put in the garbage can.
Posted by: Becks07 | Jul 12, 2007 8:34:32 PM
James,
That was my impression, too, from reading the police report. And if it was in fact entrapment, then I would hope that the case would be tossed.
But we could still take satisfaction in knowing (since, according to the report, Allen ultimately consented to blow the police officer) that another opponent of civil rights and champion of "family values" has been exposed as a hypocrite.
Shakespeare hit the nail on the head over 400 years ago when he wrote, in "Hamlet," "Methinks the lady doth protest too much."
Posted by: JOE 2 | Jul 12, 2007 8:35:56 PM
Typical Repugnikkklan:
1) Deny
2) Blame other party
3) Spin
4) Repeat steps 1 - 3
On another note, as there are no comments for the latest post, "Postcard from Bali", I'll write it here: Hellooooo! Andre is, well, beyond. Beyond. Thanks for the desktop wallpaper Andy lol.
Posted by: Cory | Jul 12, 2007 8:46:54 PM
Wow. My head is dizzy from all that spinning!!! And then to read the police report! I almost fell out of my chair!!
This is just gonna be awful, isn't it?
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
ROTFL
Posted by: Jonathon | Jul 12, 2007 9:02:57 PM
James,
You're right. I would like to see what the cop says he "talked" about with the others before he went back in to "wash [his] hands." The charge would stand a chance if the arresting officer were in the park as part of a sting targeting lewd conduct, but he says he was there investigating robbery.
Four balls and a walk for Allen.
Posted by: Micnyc80 | Jul 12, 2007 9:19:52 PM
"Huh. The bad thing is, if you read the police report, it seems like it was the cop who made the first move: "Do you have someplace we could go?". The first words making a "move" come from the cop."
Oh, really? A guy follows you into a public restroom, opens the door to YOUR stall, enters it and then closes the door behind him and stands against it? I'd say Allen made the first move, wouldn't you?????
Posted by: za | Jul 12, 2007 9:35:54 PM
Republican men in Florida sure do seem to love the cock!
< yes how true is that... first mark foley and now this sleazy bastard... this guy just looks like a typical sleazy politician, why would anyone vote for him? he's from cape canaveral and cocoa beach area- where are the gays from that area? get to the polls in 2008 and vote this butthole of power!
And why is it that it's always the perps and creeps that are introducing all the morality legislation concerning sex...gee what is it with these men? They must feel so guilty and be so tortured that they have to introduce and try to get a law passed, yet they turn around and do what they're trying to make illegal, they are so fucked up, so screwed up in the head... none of these nuts should still be in office.
Posted by: juliana | Jul 12, 2007 9:38:30 PM
Basic rule of thumb is, the police don't charge unless they got you on something. And here it's a $20 fee for a public place, an area that is CLEARLY off limits per the US Supreme Court. It seems clear the anger is against the duplicity of the defendant rather than the stupidity of a public place. And don't delude yourselves: the police get off on this type of assignment.
Posted by: publius100 | Jul 12, 2007 10:40:41 PM
Mika sings about it. Mr. Allen is a real life Billy Brown, "a victim of the times". Sometimes I think we just need to find some sort of sympathy for these guys who were never brave enough to live truthful lives.
Posted by: Rafael | Jul 12, 2007 11:18:11 PM
Remember that a conservative is a liberal who's been mugged and a liberal is a conservative who's been arrested.
I'm a bit confused. If the officer made the first move, why would Allen need to pay? Cops make this stuff up to get a conviction, though the truth is probably somewhere between complete innocence and the charges as expressed. He plead to a misdemeanor charge no doubt.
Posted by: anon (gmail.com) | Jul 13, 2007 12:15:15 AM
How could you have sympathy for someone who actively works against you? If he were a quiet closet case, perhaps. But he's an actively hypocritical asshole. Sympathy isn't an option. He's no victim, and times have changed.
Posted by: Paul | Jul 13, 2007 12:21:35 AM
lol. after reading that police report, in the hands of a good lawyer, that arresting officer Kavanaugh is gonna get ripped to ribbons. shit, he can't even spell quiet correctly.
Posted by: sean | Jul 13, 2007 12:40:10 AM
"I wish this situation to [sic] no one."
"Er, except everyone that isn't me, on them I wish this situation to, and, as I've stated before while drafting my hateful and pandering bill, people in this situation should be locked up so we're safe. But who'ma gonna blow if everybody else is locked up?"
I'm not sure if I squirmed with delight, disgust or both while watching him wriggle. Excepting his daughter, who had no choice in picking her dad, sympathy just isn't an option. Pig.
Posted by: JeffK | Jul 13, 2007 1:10:56 AM
I love this board. You all already came up with all the things I wanted to say. First of all, this bitch most definitely "doth protest [way] too much."
Secondly, the entire speech needs a big [sic] after it if you care about the English language. But wait, this is Florida, where they hate those Mexicans and Cubans who are trying to pervert "our" language. Give me a break. Learn to speak it before you go after non-native speakers.
There's so much wrong here. Possible entrapment, possible pervert hypocrite politician getting away with being a pervert hypocrite. Florida is a strange place.
Posted by: So Left I'm Right | Jul 13, 2007 1:19:04 AM
Sweet!
Posted by: Bill Perdue | Jul 13, 2007 1:37:39 AM
"Strange" doesn't begin to describe it.
This is the state that gave us Mark Foley, Katherine Harris, Jeb Bush, Anita Bryant, Ronda Storms, Alan Hayes, and that idiot running for Mayor in Miami Beach.
Florida has some of the most homophobic laws in the nation. It's one of only three states to ban all gay adoptions, even for single people. It's labor laws specifically allow for discrimination against gays under "religious freedom" clauses. One of its counties banned any mention of Gay Pride. It has a ban on gay books for school children.
I mean, Jesus H. Chirst, it's hard to outdo Georgia and Texas when it comes to anti-gay legilsation... but somehow, the Sunshine State manages.
Yet, it has also somehow escaped the harsh judgments heaped upon the aforementioned states. In fact, gays seem to love the place, even though it's a right-wing and reactionary state that doesn't welcome them.
I think we're way pass "strange."
Posted by: John | Jul 13, 2007 1:57:19 AM
John - I live in Fort Lauderdale and we do have a presence and we intend to bring about reform. There is a large gay population here, unfortunately many of us lack political engagement and a large portion of our community does not have the legal status to partake in the local political debate.
On one hand we have part of our LGBT community taking action against Major Jim Naugle http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19725550/ which in my view is a step in the right direction. But on the other side of the coin there are historical events that have reshaped the states political interest and and shifted the states persuasion towards the republican party. One of these events was the way the Clinton administration handled the Elian Gonzalez case, this had a great impact upon south Florida's voters and their party association.
Floridians (or at least South Floridians) are very open minded and accepting of the gay community. We live side by side, day to day and neither of us hides at all. The problem we face is not rooted in our people but in our representation.
Thus far Republicans have not delivered. We are facing issues like the raising property taxes, high cost for home insurance among others. Hopefully this will prove to be a wake up call for our endeared Floridians.
Posted by: Rafael | Jul 13, 2007 3:26:05 AM
Much as I despise right-wing scum like Allen, this police report is fishier than a can of sardines. I got a feeling this cop thought he was just bustin' another probable queer for being in the area and thought he could make up anything he damn well pleased and be believed, and he got in over his piggy little head. I'd enjoy the spectacle of a homophobic Republican being entrapped by his own county's anti-gay actions, but this is probably going to be dropped due to "lack of evidence" by the DA (can't have a good, solid member of the GOP shown up as a hypocrite, can we?) and no one will notice but the gay community. And no one on the right will make the connection that sometimes cops lie about why they arrested someone. And no one will change a damned thing. Just like always.
Posted by: jemmytee | Jul 13, 2007 3:29:20 AM
Whatever comes of this case, it appears Mrs. Allen ought to stop by the nearest sex shop and buy a strap-on. Daddy's been a bad boy.
Posted by: Bill | Jul 13, 2007 8:15:12 AM
This whole scandal has been covered years ago by the chaps who do Little Britain. Just check out the chronicles of Sir Norman Fry. It all sounds TOO familiar. LOL http://youtube.com/results?search_query=little+britain+sir+norman+fry&search=
Posted by: Harry | Jul 13, 2007 8:41:34 AM
Karma's a bitch.
Posted by: sam | Jul 13, 2007 9:46:40 AM
I love what that Anita Bryant orange juice is doing to the republican reich! Drink up boys.
Posted by: Vinny | Jul 13, 2007 10:21:47 AM
Only Republicans are dumb enough to offer to pay for tea room sex!!!
Posted by: David Ehrenstein | Jul 13, 2007 11:35:41 AM
I'm not licensed to practice in Florida, but if Florida has the same law regarding entrapment, he's not going to win an entrapment defense.
Despite what the armchair lawyers may think, it doesn't matter that the cop was the first to speak. For entrapment to succeed, Allen is going to have the burden (entrapment is an affirmative defense, so the Defendant carries the burden) to prove that the criminal design was not in his mind and was planted by the government agent.
The suspicious behavior of Allen going in and out of the bathroom repeatedly, followed by the act of entering into an occupied stall to engage in a conversation with its occupant is enough, probably, to defeat an entrapment claim. The fact that the cop may have initiated the conversation with Allen while Allen was still outside of the stall is irrelevant. His voluntary reaction was to enter the occupy stall and continue the conversation there. That is not the act of someone who has no criminal design. He was either going to engage in lewd conduct in public or commit an act of prostitution, it wasn't an innocent social call, as evidenced by his offer to pay $20 to perform oral sex on the officer. It didn't work for George Michael; it won't work for Allen.
By the way, this is coming from a defense attorney who adamently supports equal rights for the LGBT community, including marriage!
Posted by: Modern Esquire | Jul 13, 2007 3:54:06 PM
http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2007/7/12/allen_cosponsored_public_lewdness_bill.html
Click on the video link 'Lawmaker Arrested'
The police dept. revealed that Allen made a self-incriminating statement that was RECORDED by the investigator and that Allen's statement was consistent with the officer's statement who made the arrest. Wham bam he's done. There's nothing to "vigorously fight" against except his own sexual urges. It's so tragic...
Posted by: Dude | Jul 14, 2007 6:45:29 AM
typical greasy fascist pig. let's throw all of this right wing vermin and scum up against the wall. it's the least they deserve. i'll pull the trigger myself.
Posted by: gilgamesh | Jan 30, 2008 8:12:11 PM
Is there ONE Republican asshole (I know that's redundant) ANYONE can show me that's not a complete and total degenerate? anywhere?? one? c'mon, there's got to be ONE...?
Posted by: Socrates | Jan 30, 2008 8:15:16 PM