7 May 21-27, 2026 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | And all I can say is that there wasn’t protocol; there wasn’t clear messaging about it,” Gunn says. “I think that goes to show how disorga- nized and sensitive and touchy Fishback was about this issue.” Gunn wondered how Fishback would re- spond when confronted directly — and soon found out. During the March 30 Taco Bell rally, he and Verner attended as representa- tives for Fishback’s Orange County chapter with the plan to recruit more volunteers. Fishback made their jobs easy, commanding the crowd’s attention. “There are 200 people, all these dudes from the internet, all crammed into this little bitty Cantina Taco Bell, and the first thing I hear when I walk in, he said, ‘When I’m elected governor, the Florida worker will have a friend in me.’ And I’m like, ‘That’s awesome. Hey, I need a friend,’” Gunn says. Verner says the energy was palpable: “I was kind of captivated by it, because I saw how he grasped the audience.” Once Fishback finished his speech, he slipped out the back door with a crowd of people following behind him. In the crowd, Gunn spotted a familiar face headed straight toward the gubernatorial hopeful: TajyTV, who had questioned him about the allega- tions regarding Fishback days earlier. “Hilariously, in an example of serendipity that has never been matched in my entire life, that same guy from the sign-waving event has got a camera in James Fishback’s face, and I’m like, ‘Oh my god, he got him,’” Gunn says. As he asked his question — “So Mr. Fishback, what’s with you smashing a 16- or 17-year-old, can you answer about what’s going on with that?” — Verner leaned in, wanting to hear the answer. In a response captured on video, Fishback tells TajyTV, “You should be lynched, you should be lynched for ly- ing about me like that.” Verner’s reac- tion is visible on the viral clip. “I hear the word ‘lynch,’ he was like, ‘You should be lynched,’” Verner says. “He’s yelling it, and I’m like, what is he talking about? If you watch the video, you can see me, and my mouth was wide open, like my jaw dropped… I didn’t even process it until later.” Gunn calls it “the most racist thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” The crowd reached a fever pitch. “You’ve got this, basically, what’s turning into a mob of all these right- wing guys, these sort of frustrated fellas who are out there at a Taco Bell,” Gunn says. “I’m dipping, but these guys are like, ‘Yeah, F you, get out of here, inno- cent until proven guilty,’ and one of the guys behind me jokingly says, ‘Fight!’” Verner and Gunn both say the only vio- lence they witnessed was TajyTV being pushed. Gunn says the gravity of the situation hit him instantly. “I’m done, because I don’t want to be a part of a mob in the middle of Orlando that is incited by this person who I’m trying to put in charge of the third-biggest state in America,” Gunn says. Verner and Gunn emphasize they are right- wing and agree with some of Fishback’s ideas, but say they were disgusted by his actions. Verner says he was initially willing to look past Fishback’s controversies, saying Fishback has “always been sort of edgy” and that he was ex- cited about the campaign. Not anymore. “I don’t know what’s in the future for right-wing politics anymore,” Verner says. “I feel like James kind of put a nail in the coffin for what could have been something great, and he just seems like a grifter.” For her part, Tagliarini now thinks Fish- back “does not hold the values of a man needed to represent Florida.” Since going public about some of her expe- riences on the campaign, she’s faced harass- ment from apparent Fishback supporters. In the last few days, an X account by the name of “Gianna is a Whore” began posting on the platform. On May 7, her X account was hacked. She promptly changed her password. On May 8, somebody reached out to a family member of hers, voicing concern about her mental health and saying that “threatening to ‘come af- ter’ James Fishback” might “end badly for her.” She could find herself in legal trouble and leave “your son without a mother caring for him.” They pointed to a video clipped by an X account where she warned critics that her fa- ther will “torture you, and you will end up in the Tampa Bay.” Tagliarini claims the video was deliberately cut to ex- clude “If anything happens to me or anyone touches me, my father will…” She says the harassment has left her feel- ing “helpless most days…I mean, I have every- thing to lose at this point.” But she says the scrutiny is a small price for what she feels is right. “If we don’t call out bad behavior like this, and we don’t stop it, then it’s something that we’re blatantly ignoring, and we’re allowing in society,” Tagliarini says. “Can’t do that.” [email protected] Fishback, Wright, and Tagliarini attend a meet-and-greet at the Lakeland Republican club. This was Tagliarini’s first official meeting with the candidate in Lakeland, on Jan. 7, 2026. Gianna Tagliarini photo
