Your Florida Daily: Chitwood threatened, sports betting heads to state supreme court

Plus: The ‘Hydrocake’

A screengrab from a YouTube video allegedly made by Joshua Wahl where he holds up a box of rifle targets in front of a picture of Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood. (Copyright 2023 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

A man already facing charges in a double murder in Alaska is now federally indicted on charges of threatening to kill Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood.

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The indictment said Joshua Wahl emailed a threat against Chitwood in March and included a link to Wahl’s YouTube channel, where he used a laser to burn a hole in a photo of Chitwood’s face.

In the video, the man is seen holding explosives in front of a picture of the sheriff.

Chitwood has repeatedly been threatened online since February when he said he would take a stand against growing instances of antisemitism in Florida.

Prosecutors said Wahl had posted antisemitic messages on 4chan before and had threatened to kill all Jewish and Israeli children, and included a photo of a pipe bomb.

Wahl is also under indictment in Alaska after the murder of two people in August.

State troopers say a driver killed in a crash on a busy Orange County road was test driving a sports car from the dealership where he worked. (Copyright 2023 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

State troopers say a driver killed in a crash on a busy Orange County road was test-driving a sports car from the dealership where he worked.

FHP said the Corvette crashed into a Honda yesterday on Sand Lake Road at Beacon Lake Drive, near the Florida Mall.

The 20-year-old driver of the Corvette died and a 22-year-old co-worker had minor injuries.

Troopers said they worked at a Volkswagen dealership about a mile from the site of the crash.

The driver of the Honda was not hurt.

(WJXT)

The fight over sports betting in Florida is now headed to the Florida Supreme Court.

Two groups are suing to stop the Seminole Tribe from implementing sports betting as part of the 2021 compact the Tribe made with the State of Florida.

The plaintiffs are suing Florida leaders, accusing Gov. Ron DeSantis of exceeding his authority by agreeing to the compact, claiming it violates a 2018 constitutional amendment approved by voters.

It requires that any expansion of gambling in the state must be done by constitutional amendment, except on tribal land.

DeSantis and the Seminole Tribe argue that since the servers that would handle the online sports betting were going to be housed on tribal land, the compact followed the amendment.

Both companies behind the lawsuit previously operated casinos in South Florida.

Random Florida Fact

Nicknamed “the Hydrocake” this iconic Publix water tower was built in Lakeland to provide support to the newly opened dairy processing plant, frozen food warehouse, and expanded bakery plant. (Katrina Scales)

Nicknamed “the Hydrocake” this iconic Publix water tower was built in Lakeland to provide support to the newly opened dairy processing plant, frozen food warehouse, and expanded bakery plant.

Standing at a staggering 146 feet tall, this tower is made up of a whopping 2.25 million pounds of steel, secured by two tons of welding rods and resting on a foundation of 170 cubic yards of concrete.

If you want to see it, it’s along the New Tampa Highway in Lakeland on the side of the road.

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About the Author

Katrina Scales is a producer for the News 6+ Takeover at 3:30 p.m. She also writes and voices the podcast Your Florida Daily. Katrina was born and raised in Brevard County and started her journalism career in radio before joining News 6 in June 2021.

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