Prosecutor’s Office That Inspired Trump NY Indictment Now Targets Conservative Journalist in Sunshine State
By Dick LaFontaine and M. Thomas Nast
Lawfare Invades Florida: The Blue State Warrant That Crossed the Line
A Florida journalist says he’s being hunted for his political beliefs—and the proof is in a brazen felony arrest warrant from New York.
Richard Luthmann, a Naples resident and conservative firebrand, is preparing to file federal papers to stop what he calls “weaponized lawfare” from crossing into Florida.
The felony arrest warrant, issued July 14 by Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon, accuses Luthmann of “felony criminal contempt” for posting satire and political commentary online.
The so-called “victim”? McMahon himself.
“There’s no probable cause here. No judge signed off. Just McMahon’s accusations rubber-stamped by a subordinate NYPD officer,” Luthmann says. “This isn’t law enforcement—it’s political revenge.”
Luthmann sent a Local Rule 3.01(g) Notice in the Middle District of Florida asking Governor Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier to block any extradition effort.
He calls McMahon’s warrant “insane,” “illegal,” and “an attempt at institutional homicide.”
“This isn’t a crime. It’s a trumped-up Blue State political hit job,” Luthmann told reporters. “They’re trying to bury me for journalism.”
A Trumped-Up Blueprint—Literally
This isn’t McMahon’s first foray into lawfare. Luthmann says McMahon’s 2018 prosecution of him in New York served as the “exact playbook” for Alvin Bragg’s now-infamous indictment of President Donald Trump.
A special prosecutor working out of McMahon’s office charged Luthmann with “falsification of business records”—the same obscure statute Bragg used against President Trump.
“The blueprint for Trump’s persecution started with me,” Luthmann says.
The parallels are chilling. Both indictments stemmed from paperwork. Both were elevated to felonies without violence or victims.
And both were driven by partisan prosecutors looking to make headlines.
Now McMahon, described by critics as a “radical left, Trump-hating Democrat,” is using the same tactics against Luthmann for writing articles and memes.
“He’s weaponizing the law to silence a critic,” Luthmann says. “I’ve lived in Florida for four years, kept the peace, and worked hard to build my life.”
Lawfare Invades Florida: Journalism as a Crime?
At the heart of McMahon’s case is Luthmann’s Facebook satire and his coverage on FLGulfNews.com, NYNewsPress.com, and Substack, platforms that expose political corruption and abuse of power.
“Everything I posted was speech,” Luthmann says. “Facebook even confirmed the Don’t Rank Hanks page didn’t violate their standards. No one filed a complaint—not even McMahon.”
Yet McMahon, acting as both the prosecutor and alleged “victim,” directed the NYPD to issue a felony warrant for speech made entirely in Florida.
“There was no hearing. No judge. No review. Just a politician using police as muscle,” Luthmann says. “This is what you expect in coolie, sh–hole countries, not the United States. Marxist Mike loves islands. Maybe he should move to Haiti.”
Luthmann believes the real motive is to derail his civil lawsuits against McMahon’s political allies in New York.
“They want to shut me up and shut me down,” he says. “But they owe me and the taxpayers a bunch of money.”
Luthmann says McMahon’s wife, Judy McMahon, did the same thing to reporters. And he has it on tape.
“Judy McMahon bragged about shutting up journalists’ sources at the Staten Island Advance. These people have disdain for the press, like all true authoritarians,” Luthmann said.
He also believes the long-term goal is darker.
“McMahon wants to use New York State’s criminal machinery to kill me slowly through physical and mental health collapse. This is institutional homicide.”
Lawfare Invades Florida: Conservatives Must Draw the Line
Luthmann’s federal notice urges Governor DeSantis to reject the warrant under Florida law, citing public policy that forbids political prosecutions.
“No action should be taken under Fla. Stat. § 941.03,” Luthmann’s notice reads. “Florida and the U.S. have declared war on lawfare. We cannot let a radical Democrat DA wage political warfare across state lines.”
The filing also names U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier as parties who must be alerted to this unconstitutional abuse.
“If Florida surrenders to this madness, every journalist in a red state is at risk,” Luthmann warns. “They’ll come for all of us.”
A devout Catholic and Fourth-Degree Knight of Columbus, Luthmann has spent four years in Florida rebuilding after PTSD and persecution.
“All I want is to tell the truth,” he says. “But they won’t let me live in peace.”
He credits his mental health recovery and new career in journalism to Florida’s freedom-loving environment.
“But with Blue State tyrants like McMahon, no one’s safe—not even here.”
From Staten Island to Stalin
New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani once warned he would turn NYC into a communist state.
Luthmann says that the future has already arrived.
“They are not becoming a commie state—they are one,” he says. “McMahon proves that every time he sends the cops after journalists.”
Luthmann says he’s fighting not just for himself, but for every conservative voice in America.
“If they can do this to me, they’ll do it to President Trump again. They’ll do it to you,” Luthmann said. “This administration must eradicate the deep state and unethical Soros-style prosecutors once and for all.”
The federal court in Fort Myers will soon decide whether Florida remains a firewall against New York’s political tyranny.
“Florida is my home,” Luthmann says. “I will not be dragged back into the Gulag without a fight.”
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