Hurricane Center Monitoring 2 Systems

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Miami, FL) -- The National Hurricane Center in Miami is tracking two areas of disturbed weather in the Atlantic, but neither poses an immediate threat to Florida or the U.S. One system is located north-northeast of the Azores and could briefly take on tropical or subtropical characteristics as it moves toward Portugal and northwestern Spain this weekend. The second system is a weak area of low pressure several hundred miles east-southeast of Bermuda that is producing scattered showers and thunderstorms. Forecasters say development chances remain low for both systems over the next seven days.

'First Amendment Auditor' Arrested for Voter Intimidation At Santa Rosa County Polling Location during Tuesday Primary

NewsRadio has obtained the official arrest report from the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office detailing last Tuesday's voter intimidation incident at the Santa Rosa County Auditorium in Milton.

According to the report, deputies responded around ten-thirty that morning after callers reported forty-year-old Marc Manchon video recording and yelling at civilians entering the polling station on Spikes Way. Deputies arrived to find Manchon holding a cell phone on a camera stick, yelling and cursing at voters going in and out. The polling clerk told deputies Manchon had already been inside the building recording and yelling before deputies arrived.

The report says poll workers let Manchon inside briefly to cool off from the heat but told him he wasn't allowed to record. When Manchon refused to stop and wouldn't leave, a man assisting poll workers stepped in to get him out — and Manchon pushed him in the abdomen, according to the report.

Two independent witnesses told deputies they were scared while trying to vote. One woman said Manchon cussed at her and kept filming even after she asked him to stop, while she was in the middle of casting her ballot. Another said she witnessed Manchon push a poll worker and threaten to pepper spray someone, leaving her frightened as she tried to vote.

When deputies approached Manchon, the report says he refused to identify himself despite being told he was part of a lawful investigation. He then walked toward a deputy's patrol vehicle and refused commands to stop, leading to his arrest for resisting an officer.

A criminal history check turned up a prior battery-equivalent conviction in New Hampshire, which deputies say elevated the battery charge in this case to a felony. Manchon also has prior convictions for obstructing government operations and disorderly conduct out of Hillsborough, New Hampshire.

According to the report, deputies noted that the Santa Rosa County Auditorium was not Manchon's assigned polling location. He was booked into the Santa Rosa County Jail and released Wednesday on seventeen-thousand-five-hundred-dollar bond.

Manchon is now facing three counts of disturbing the peace, two counts of voter intimidation or suppression, one count of battery, and one count of resisting an officer without violence.

Manchon is a self-described "First Amendment auditor" who runs a YouTube channel with more than 200,000 followers, filming encounters with public officials and institutions to test how they respond to constitutionally protected activity. He recently relocated to the area from New England. In May, he recorded two earlier, non-confrontational encounters locally — one outside a Milton church and another at the Santa Rosa County School District's administrative complex — both of which drew local media attention for how officials handled the situations.

Benny Russell Splash Pad Closed Friday For Repairs

The splash pad at Benny Russell Park in Pace is closed today after being hit by lightning. County officials say repairs are underway, and they'll provide an update if the closure needs to extend beyond Friday.