Miami Beach woman questioned by police over Facebook comment about mayor

A Miami Beach woman is demanding answers after detectives showed up at her door to question her about a Facebook comment she wrote about the city’s mayor.

Raquel Pacheco, a former candidate for the Miami Beach City Commission and the Florida Senate, says she was stunned when officers arrived on Monday and began asking about a critical remark she had posted online. She recorded part of the interaction.

In the video, Pacheco can be heard asking, “Am I being charged with a crime? OK, you are here to investigate a statement that I allegedly made on Facebook.”

Comment about mayor triggers police visit

Pacheco had responded to a post from the mayor, who shared a photo describing Miami Beach as a welcoming place. Her comment criticized his positions and actions, saying in part that he “consistently calls for the death of Palestinians, tried to shut down a theater for showing a movie that hurt his feelings, and refuses to stand up for the LGBTQ community in any way.”

She says she never imagined the post would prompt a police investigation.

“My overwhelming feeling was that freedom of speech as I know it died at my front step yesterday,” Pacheco said. “It’s an incredibly, incredibly sad thing.”

Police cite concerns about public reaction

In the video, officers ask whether the Facebook account is hers. Pacheco responds, “I refuse to answer questions without my lawyer present.”

The officers then explain why they came.

“We are just trying to prevent somebody else getting agitated or agreeing with the statement,” one officer says. “We are not saying it’s true or not.”

Pacheco disputes the idea that her comment could be interpreted as inciting violence.

“Anyone who reads that statement, I don’t know how you can take that as an excitement of violence in any type,” she said.

Mayor’s office declines to comment

CBS News Miami reached out to the mayor’s communications staff multiple times and visited City Hall. The mayor’s office did not provide anyone for an interview and said the mayor was not in the building.

Pacheco seeks records, questions police actions

Pacheco has hired an attorney, and together they have filed public records requests to learn what led officers to her home.

“We are traveling down a very slippery road here,” she said. “My goal is not to just make it stop for me, obviously, but for everyone. Think about this — I am a vocal person. I am a loud person. I am a well‑known person in this town, and if they can do that to me, and I’m a veteran, imagine what they can do to people who don’t have a voice.”

CBS News Miami has also reached out to Miami Beach Police for comment and is awaiting a response.