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Ron Filipkowski (born October 30, 1968) is an American criminal defense attorney and former state and federal prosecutor who is known for sharing political clips and commentary on social media. He is the
editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...
of MeidasTouch Network, a liberal news website.


Early life

Filipkowski grew up on
Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...
with his mother, a single parent. He worked to pay his college fees.


Career

Filipkowski served as a Marine from 1986 to 1990. In 2008, Filipkowski ran on the Republican ticket for
public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Belgium, Hungary and Si ...
. He was elected president of the Republican Club of South Sarasota County in 2009 and 2010. In December 2020, Filipkowski resigned from his judicial nominating committee appointment, citing
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
governor
Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician, attorney, and former United States Navy, naval officer serving as the 46th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Pa ...
's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. His departure came a day after data analyst
Rebekah Jones Rebekah Jones (born July 25, 1989) is an American geographer, data scientist, and activist. She is known for her COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 activism in Florida, allegations against the Florida Department of Health and Florida Governor Ron DeSa ...
had her home raided by Florida's Department of Law Enforcement. Prior to the 2020 election, Filipkowski started tracking
far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
extremists on social media, working with two anonymous researchers to monitor livestreamed events, social media, podcasts and radio shows and post their findings on Twitter. In February 2022, Filipkowski said he and his team had turned over "hundreds of very obscure interviews and podcasts from the planners, leaders and participants" of the January 6 Capitol attack to the
January 6 Committee The United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (commonly referred to as the January 6th Committee) was a select committee of the U.S. House of Representatives established to investig ...
. Filipkowski is the editor-in-chief of the liberal news website MeidasTouch Network. He has written opinion pieces for ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
''. In 2024, he said, "The Meidas guys, as a team, said: We are going to do this to
Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
. We are going to hit every
gaffe A political gaffe is a mistake or blunder in speech or action made by a politician that attracts media attention and public scrutiny. While often unintended, political gaffes can have significant consequences, as they may reveal the politician's p ...
, every mispronunciation, every slurred word, every mispronounced name, every time he mixes up a name. We're going to clip that and we're going to put it out and we're going to put it in montages. No one else was doing that."


Views

Filipkowski was a member of the Republican Party until January 2021, when he registered as a
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...
following the January 6 Capitol attack. He describes himself as a moderate Democrat. Filipkowski is critical of
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
and DeSantis. During the 2020 election cycle, Filipkowski recorded a video consisting of reasons he thought the Republican Party should not re-elect Trump as part of an ad campaign by Republican Voters Against Trump, a group launched by
Bill Kristol William Kristol (; born December 23, 1952) is an American neoconservative writer. A frequent commentator on several networks including CNN, he was the founder and editor-at-large of the political magazine ''The Weekly Standard''. Kristol is edi ...
. In December 2020, Filipkowski criticized DeSantis's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic as "reckless and irresponsible". Following a raid on
Rebekah Jones Rebekah Jones (born July 25, 1989) is an American geographer, data scientist, and activist. She is known for her COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 activism in Florida, allegations against the Florida Department of Health and Florida Governor Ron DeSa ...
's home, he suggested that she was targeted for questioning DeSantis's approach to the pandemic. After Jones's accusations of being fired for not manipulating COVID-19 data were determined to be unfounded, Filipkowski has since criticized her as a "fraud" and a "grifter".


Personal life

Filipkowski is married. He and his wife have five children; their first son is named
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
Filipkowski. Filipkowski has coached a Little League Baseball team, leading it to six state championships. In 2010, he was named the 13-U National Coach of the Year by the baseball publication ''Travel Ball Select''. In 2011, he published a manual for youth baseball coaches titled ''Travelball: How to Start and Manage a Successful Travel Baseball Team''. Filipkowski ran
triathlons A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the ...
, competing in the national championship when he was 50. He later suffered nerve damage to his foot while running sprints, preventing him from running.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Filipkowski, Ron 1968 births Living people 21st-century American lawyers United States Marine Corps non-commissioned officers People from Sarasota, Florida Never Trump movement Criticism of Donald Trump Florida Republicans Florida Democrats