MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. – A Manatee County circuit court judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the Manatee County Republican Executive Committee and its chairman, Mark Flanagan, citing Florida’s legal protections for political expression. The ruling, which was issued with prejudice—meaning the ca se cannot be refiled—concluded that the legal claims targeted speech protected under the state’s […] Florida SLAPP-Down: Judge Tosses “Baseless” Lawsuit Against Manatee GOP Leadership ...read more read less