A pro-Trump lawyer (and failed judicial candidate) in Florida has been disciplined by his state’s Supreme Court for homophobic and anti-Muslim comments made on social media.
Retired Pasco Country attorney Donald McBath was suspended from practicing law for 91 days after the Florida Bar reviewed several disparaging remarks on his Twitter and Facebook accounts.
He was also fined $1,380 for failing “to maintain the dignity appropriate to judicial office and act in a manner that is consistent with impartiality, integrity, and independence of the judiciary,” reports the Tampa Bay Times.
Regarding LGBTQ people, McBath tweeted on February 25 this year, “Homosexuality is condemned by Jesus and if the homosexual continues committing that sin of sodomy, his soul faces ETERNAL damnation! Abstain, if you really have that mental illness. It’s not love.”
He used big capital letters, so he really must have meant it…
In January, he took issue with drag queen story hours in the Sunshine state writing, “YOU SICK QUEERS, leave our innocent children alone.”
Taking issue with Muslim people, he tweeted on February 26, 2017, “Never trust a Muslim.”
The next month, he fired off, “Muslims are deranged!”
In the disciplinary report, the Florida Bar also took note of McBath’s Twitter bio which read (before it was suspended): “100% Trump supporter #MAGA; #KAG; proud DEPLORABLE; Pro-God; Christian; Pro-Life; Pro-Gun; Anti-Sharia; Constitutional Conservative; Former Major US Army.”
During his candidacy for judge in the Sixth Judicial Circuit last year (which he lost in the primary by 16+ points), he owned up to the comments but told the Tampa Bay Times his social media remarks wouldn’t prevent him from treating LGBTQ or Muslim people fairly if they appeared in his courtroom.
Riiiiight…
This isn’t McBath’s first trip to the disciplinary rodeo as an attorney.
In 1997, he was admonished for not competently representing a client. In 2002, he was publicly reprimanded for trust account violations.
He was suspended for 21 days in 2007 for filing frivolous paperwork in a divorce case, and in 2014 he was admonished for threatening an opposing party in a cease and desist letter.
