Judge Rejects Request by Mike Huckabee, Others to Access Private Florida Beaches Amid Pandemic

Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Republican, and more than a dozen other owners of beachfront properties who requested access to closed-off Florida beaches in an emergency motion last week are not exceptions to the rule, a federal judge decided Monday. U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson of the Northern District of Florida ruled against the beachfront owners of properties near Pensacola who sued after the state closed all public and private beaches to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. The plaintiffs, who requested “just compensation” by Walton County to use their beach properties, said that “through threats of prosecution including fines of up to $500 and jail (up to 60 days),” local officials “have physically prevented Plaintiffs from being able to use or even set foot in their own backyards.”