FDLE: Anonymous Video Calling Out Gov. Rick Scott Not A Crime

TALLAHASSEE, FL — A cryptic video supposedly released by the hacktivist group Anonymous calling out Florida Gov. Rick Scott on corruption and the environment has been reviewed by the state law enforcement officers.

While the video demands immediate impeachment hearings, Scott’s resignation and reportedly is a declaration of war on the state’s top politician, its contents don’t necessarily raise criminal red flags.

“(It) doesn’t appear that a crime has been committed,” Gretl Plessinger, communications director for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, told Patch. That said, "we always maintain operational readiness," she added.

Scott’s office made FDLE aware of the video shortly after it popped up on Facebook, McKinley P. Lewis, Scott’s deputy communication’s director, said. Doing so, he noted, is standard procedure in such cases.

See Also:

• Anonymous Declares War On Gov. Rick Scott

In the video a supposed Anonymous member, wearing a signature Guy Fawkes’ mask, calls Scott out on his alleged complacency in allowing polluted water from Lake Okeechobee to flow into the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.

“As the rainy season is fast approaching, we direct the polluted waters be redirected into the state Capitol’s front doors,” the speaker on the video said, using the computer-generated voice also signature in the Anonymous movement. The speaker also accuses Scott of “collusion of corruption,” of making a “mockery of the judicial process” and protecting “corrupt politicians.”

While the speaker issued a number of demands, including Scott’s resignation, no specific threats were made against Scott. The video ended simply with this warning: “We do not forgive and we do not forget. Expect us.”

Back in 2014, Anonymous targeted the city of Fort Lauderdale over its alleged unfair treatment of homeless people. In that case, the city’s website was taken down as a preventative measure after a reported Anonymous threat video hit YouTube. The video has since been taken down.

More recently, the group has made threats against Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump by declaring “total war.” In that video declaration, the group accused Trump of shocking the world with “appalling actions and ideas,” Time reported. The video has since been taken down from YouTube.

In addition to its threats on Trump, Scott and Fort Lauderdale, Anonymous has been connected with a number of high-profile hacking cases in recent years. The group has threatened the Chinese government, the Ferguson Police Department, ISIS and others.

Patch file photo