A federal judge has allowed a First Amendment lawsuit to proceed against Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner after he allegedly had police sent to a resident’s house to question her over a social media post criticizing his support for Israel.

Judge Cecilia Altonaga of the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Monday denied defendants’ motion to dismiss claims filed on behalf of Miami Beach resident and veteran Raquel Pacheco.

Altonaga said that “ordering a police visit to an individual’s home to discuss the individual’s speech can constitute a restriction on speech that would support a viewpoint discrimination claim.”

On January 12, a pair of Miami Beach police officers showed up at Pacheco’s door to question her about a post she made on Facebook criticizing Meiner, an outspoken supporter of Israel and its military assault on Gaza, which has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians, including over 21,000 children.

Pacheco referred to Meiner as someone who “consistently calls for the death of all Palestinians” and “tried to shut down a theater for showing a movie that hurt his feelings,” referring to his attempt to have an independent theater’s lease terminated after it held screenings of No Other Land, an Oscar-winning documentary made by Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers about the displacement of Palestinians and demolition of homes by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.

Video of the interaction shows police asking Pacheco if the post came from her account and ignoring her as she told them she would not speak to them without a lawyer.

“This is freedom of speech,” Pacheco responded. "This is America, right?”

The officers acknowledged that Pacheco was “not going to jail” and did not claim that she had threatened Meiner. One of the officers then explained that “what we’re just trying to prevent is someone else getting agitated or agreeing with the statement.”

He added that Pacheco’s statements could “probably incite somebody to do something” before telling Pacheco to “refrain from posting things like that." The officers then left and Pacheco was never charged with a crime.

Represented by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), Pacheco filed a lawsuit in March alleging that Miami Beach officials had used police power to violate her First Amendment rights and deter her from criticizing the mayor and Israel. The lawsuit described it as part of a broader effort by officials to chill pro-Palestinian speech.

Emails released weeks after the incident revealed that Meiner personally flagged Pacheco’s post to police, referring to it as a "dangerous escalation. Speaking to reporters on February 4, he defended his decision to alert the cops, saying that Pacheco’s post was “absolutely false” and referring to it as “age-old antisemitism.”

But Altonaga said Meiner’s statements supported Pacheco’s allegation that “her viewpoint motivated Meiner’s decision to send police to her home,” allowing her viewpoint discrimination claim against him to proceed.

The court also allowed the ADC to proceed with its claim that the City of Miami Beach itself—including the mayor and police chief—had demonstrated a broader pattern of viewpoint discrimination against pro-Palestinian speech. The lawsuit cites Meiner’s attempt to shut down the local theater, as well as its law banning government contractors from boycotting Israeli businesses, including those operating in territories illegally occupied by Israel.

It also cites Meiner and other Miami Beach officials’ repeated pattern of arguing with and cutting off Pacheco and other pro-Palestinian speakers during city commission meetings while allowing pro-Israel speakers to talk with little obstruction.

During one meeting, Meiner reduced public comments for pro-Palestinian speakers to 60 seconds when they criticized the police response to Pacheco while allowing speakers who defended the police action or criticized Pacheco’s pro-Palestine viewpoint to speak for around two minutes uninterrupted.

Jenin Younes, ADC’s president and national legal director, said Monday’s ruling was “a significant victory for Raquel Pacheco, for the First Amendment, and for all Americans who care about the right to free speech and dissent.”

“The city downplayed what happened to Ms. Pacheco as a routine police visit,” Younes said. “The court disagreed, recognizing that sending police to someone’s home to question and intimidate them over their protected political speech can itself violate the First Amendment.”

“The government does not have to arrest you, prosecute you, or formally censor you to violate the First Amendment,” he added. "The chilling effect of these actions is obvious.”

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