4 February 27 - March 5, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | news | letters | coNteNts | MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | ▼ MARYLAND BEG PARDON? CPAC BOOTED ENRIQUE TARRIO AND OTHER JAN. 6 DEFENDANTS, THEN DID A 180. BY NAOMI FEINSTEIN A day after Miami Proud Boy Enrique Tarrio and other pardoned January 6 defendants were booted from the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Har- bor, Maryland, on Wednesday, February 19, the organization appeared to reverse course, allowing some of those folks back in. According to a @J6PatriotNews post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, CPAC ejected Jake Lang, Oathkeepers founder Stewart Rhodes, Adam Villarreal, Richard “Bigo” Barnett, Rachel Myers, Tar- rio, and fellow Proud Boy Dominic Pezzola. But the folliwing day a handful of those who were banished gained entry to CPAC, ac- cording to social media posts. In one, Tarrio shows off his credentials in a photo alongside the caption, “Boom.” In a video posted to X, Barnett can be seen standing next to right-wing political opera- tive Jake Raiklin as Raiklin discusses prison sentences handed down post-January 6. Bar- nett was photographed sitting at then- Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s desk during the January 6 riot. (Jesus Rivera, a Pensacola man who also served time for his role in the insurrection, can be seen in the video as well.) Another video portrays Rhodes, sporting a black cowboy hat, gaining admission to CPAC after conferring with staffers. A day earlier, Tarrio was caught on video in his black and yellow Proud Boy garb being escorted out of the conference by security personnel. Tarrio later told New Times he was kicked out “because of who I am.” He promised a further elaboration to New Times Thursday morning but had not followed up by late afternoon. Lang, who was accused of assaulting po- lice with a bat during the January 6 riot, said his credentials were revoked without expla- nation and that he was forbidden to claim the 22 tickets he’d purchased for fellow January 6ers. He said he paid for an exhibitor’s booth and spent thousands of dollars to fly fellow pardoned defendants to the conference. “They are telling me right now that I am not allowed to stay at CPAC. They are kicking January 6ers out of CPAC,” Lang says in a video on X. “This woman is telling me that my credentials have been removed. You know I did 900 days of solitary confinement? I was just released from the D.C. gulag 29 days ago with a presidential pardon and you’re remov- ing my credentials from CPAC.” In response to the reports that January 6 defendants were being escorted out of the conference, CPAC took to social media to re- but the claims — albeit without explanation. “It is untrue that we are not allowing people to come to CPAC because of their involvement with J6,” a post on CPAC’s X account reads. In fact, CPAC has been a constant supporter of this persecuted community and we support wholeheartedly President Trump’s pardons of the J6 victims. The registration link is active and tickets will be sold out very soon.” New Times sought comment from CPAC about why Tarrio and others were escorted out but have yet to hear back. [email protected] | RIPTIDE | GET MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY AT MIAMINEWTIMES.COM/NEWS Proud Boy leader Enrique Tarrio said he was one of several people kicked out of CPAC 2025 on February 19. Screenshot via Instagram/@noeliaizarza ▼ MIAMI BEACH TRIGGER WARNING MIAMI BEACH SHOOTER ALLEGEDLY MISTOOK ISRAELI TOURISTS FOR PALESTINIANS. BY THEO KARANTSALIS A Miami Beach man who fired 17 rounds at a vehicle because he thought its oc- cupants were Palestinian was “experi- encing a mental health emergency,” his attorney tells New Times. Mordechai Brafman, a 27-year-old Jewish man, was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder for allegedly opening fire on a car in Miami Beach after he saw “two Pales- tinians,” police said. According to a Times of Israel report, though, police said the victims were two Jewish Israelis visiting the U.S. Street surveillance camera video from around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 15, showed Brafman’s truck driving south on Alton Road, then making a U-turn at 48th Street before driving by the victim’s vehicle, which was in the left lane, and stopping directly in front of them, in the right lane, the arrest report said. The six-foot-tall, 230-pound Brafman then exited his truck on the driver’s side and fired 17 shots at the car as it drove past him, police said. No one was killed. However, one of the victims was shot in the shoulder and the other was grazed on the arm, according to the police report. During a police interview, Brafman “sponta- neously stated that while he was driving his truck, he saw two Palestinians and shot and killed both.” Brafman and his victims do not know each other, the report said. Miami Beach Police spokesperson Christo- pher Bess told New Times that the victims were Yaron Rabi, 45, the driver, and Arie Rabi, 20, a passenger. During county bond court on February 17, Brafman’s case was called last. Wearing an anti- suicide smock, and bearing Band-Aids on both arms, he fiddled with his handcuffs as his defense attorney, Dustin Tischler, instructed him not to speak and that his father was watching. “You have been charged with two counts of at- tempted second degree murder, and the state has filed motions for pretrial detention,” Miami- Dade County Judge Gloria Gonzalez- Meyer said. “I also find you probable cause on the two counts, also issuing stay away orders against Arie Rabi and Yaron Rabi. There is no bond.” Brafman is employed as a plumber, the police report said. A LinkedIn profile for “Mordy Braf- man” describes him as the CEO of Miami Beach- based White Collar Plumbing, with six “endorsements” for negotiation skills. In 2023, WSVN interviewed someone named Mordechai Brafman after a man stole an Ameri- can flag from a Miami Beach bagel shop. “I’d love to see some unity and people com- ing together and fighting less and being to- gether more,” Brafman said. “At the time of the incident, Mr. Brafman was experiencing a severe mental health emer- gency,” Tischler told New Times in an emailed statement follwing the bond hearing. “It is be- lieved that his ability to make sound judgments was significantly compromised.” He and his cli- ent are fully cooperating with law enforcement, Tischler said. “We are also committed to working with medical professionals to ensure Mr. Brafman re- ceives appropriate and necessary treatment. Most importantly, we are deeply relieved that the victims are out of the hospital and recovering,” the attorney added. [email protected] ONE OF THE VICTIMS WAS SHOT IN THE SHOULDER AND THE OTHER WAS GRAZED ON THE ARM.
