James Fishback, a Republican who lost the 2026 Florida primary for governor to Byron Donalds, says he was blocked from a Get Out the Vote rally in Clearwater on Saturday, Oct. 24. The rally was hosted by U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican. Donalds and U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody were listed as special guests 1.
Fishback said in a news release that he and his wife were told they were unwelcome as they tried to enter. He blamed Donalds and said he was threatened with arrest 1.
Two accounts of what happened
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office disputes the arrest claim. It said Luna's staff told detectives that Fishback was not welcome. Detectives told him he could not enter, but "they did not threaten him with arrest," the office said 1.
Donalds' communications director, Gates McGavick, called Fishback's account a lie on X. He said the event was not Donalds' and that Donalds did not remove anyone or threaten an arrest 1.
From Channel GOPAngie Nixon on Moody and Alligator AlcatrazAngie Nixon · 114 plays · captioned, with the source named
Fishback's own telling has varied. In a post quoted by Hoodline, he wrote of a "public event in St. Pete," not Clearwater, and blamed the Donalds campaign. Hoodline said that discrepancy was unresolved 2. CBS12 said his release did not say what led to the confrontation or name the deputies involved 1.
After everything I've done to help Republicans across Florida, this is how Byron Donalds chooses to treat us.
Neither source includes a statement from Luna or Moody 1. Fishback also said he had attended a recent event for Angie Nixon, a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, without trouble 12.
Not the first clash
Hoodline reported that this is not Fishback's first dispute with Republican events this year. In February, Florida troopers gave him a trespassing warning after he was removed from a rally for Lt. Gov. Jay Collins in Hillsborough County. He was told he would be arrested if he returned 2.
Weeks later, he was reportedly denied entry to a Collier County Republican Executive Committee meeting where Donalds spoke. Hoodline, citing Gulf Coast News Now, said that confrontation involved pushing, shoving and swearing 2.
Fishback says he received nearly 200,000 votes in the primary and has endorsed 22 Republican candidates. Those are his own claims, as reported by Hoodline 2.
Byron Donalds just denied me entry to his public event in St. Pete, and threatened to arrest me if we didn't leave.
What happens next
No arrest or charge has been reported in the sources we reviewed. The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3 2. Donalds has not been shown to have answered the specific claim that he ordered Fishback out, beyond his aide's denial 1.
That matters because Florida Republicans are trying to present a united front days before the vote. A fight over who gets through the door, even a small one, could point to a split among the party's own supporters. The facts are still in dispute, and readers should treat the arrest claim as an allegation that the sheriff's office denies.
The Record
- Florida troopers gave Fishback a trespassing warning after he was removed from a Jay Collins rally in Hillsborough County (February; exact day not given) 2.
- Fishback says he was blocked from Luna's Get Out the Vote rally in Clearwater; the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office says Luna's staff said he was not welcome and he was not threatened with arrest 1.
- General election day in Florida 2.
Sources
- CBS12, “'Not welcome': James Fishback allegedly blocked from entering 'Get out and Vote' rally” (2026-10-24). cbs12.com/news/local/not-welcome-here-james-fishback-alleged
- Hoodline, “James Fishback Says Deputies Threatened Arrest at Donalds Event” (2026-10-24). hoodline.com/2026/10/fishback-says-he-was-threatened-with-ar
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